Buffalo

The American Buffalo (or Bison) is not actually a Buffalo, as it’s only distantly related to the true Buffalos: the Domestic Asian Water Buffalo, the Wild Asian Water Buffalo, and the African Cape Buffalo. The African (Cape) Buffalo is not domesticated, because its unpredictable nature makes it dangerous to humans. Every year, several people are killed by the Buffalo in Africa. This species inhabits the savannah and forests of Africa from Egypt to South Africa. Forest type Buffalos are smaller than savannah type.

The African Buffalo is a very efficient grazer. It thrives in swamps, grasslands, and mountain forests. Buffalos are found in many habitats from the sea level to the highest mountains. They prefer dense vegetation, such as thickets and reeds, but can also live in open woodlands. The diet of Buffalos consists of coarse grasses. They eat all tall grass and leave enough food for selective grazers. Buffalos constantly migrate in the search for food; they never stay in one area for a long time. Their life cycle depends on the weather and climate. Thus, they breed and give birth during the rainy season.

African Buffalos live in herds consisting of related females and their offspring. Living in a herd is a necessity for grazing animals, because only when sticking together they can protect their calves and females. A whole Buffalo herd tries to rescue a member caught by a lion or other predator. In a large herd there can be several dominating bulls; in small herds, a single dominant male breeds with all females. Young and low-ranking bulls keep away from the herd. The dominance hierarchy is very strict in Buffalo herds. Fights between males are rare, but severe.

The African Cape Buffalo is estimated to be around a million species, but the exact number is unknown, because these animals inhabit remote places in Sudan, Congo, Chad, and Benin. The status of the species is Lower Risk Conservation Dependent. It means that the population of the Buffalo depends on food availability and the conservation measures. Nowadays, these animals are hunted for sport and killed by villagers for damaging their crops. Hunting Buffalo is very dangerous and thus attractive for big game hunters.