African Buffalo

The strong and imposing African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is Africa’s only wild cattle species, and one of the ‘Big Five’ mammals that were once popular with trophy hunters. With its bulky build and thick horns, the African buffalo is considered to be a dangerous animal, and its propensity to attack and even kill humans when wounded by an arrow or bullet only acts to reinforce this reputation.

The African buffalo has a broad chest, large limbs and a large head. The sparse covering of hair over the body typically ranges from brownish to black in colour. The imposing horns spread outward and downward from the head, and in some males the horns are joined by a large shield covering the head, known as a ‘boss’. Soft hairs fringe the large, drooping ears, and the long tail has a tassel of hairs at the end. The male African buffalo tends to be larger than the female, with longer, thicker horns.

There are currently four recognised subspecies of African buffalo, which vary greatly in size and appearance. The forest buffalo is the smallest of the subspecies, and has a reddish to dark red-brown coat, and smaller, swept-back horns. Distinctive tassels hang from the tips of the forest buffalo’s ears. There are three forms of the savanna buffalo; the West African savanna buffalo, the central African savanna buffalo and the southern Savanna buffalo. Of these, the southern savanna buffalo, or cape buffalo, is the largest.