|
|
|
Buffalo
The African, or Cape, buffalo is a member of the so-called "Big Five" group of animals, with the elephant, rhino, lion and leopard. Once popular trophies for hunters, these large and often dangerous animals have continued to capture the imagination. Buffaloes have earned a bad reputation from hunters and other people who come in close contact with them. They are unpredictable and can be dangerous if cornered or wounded. Though they have been known to ambush men and are often accused of deliberate savagery, they are usually placid if left alone.
There is only one genus and one species of buffalo in Africa, but this single species has two different types: the large savanna buffalo and the much smaller dwarf forest buffalo. There are also several intermediate types. The buffaloes found in the forests of Kenya and Tanzania are the savanna type, however, and not the true forest buffalo, which occurs only in West Africa.
The African buffalo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild water buffalo of Asia and its ancestry remains unclear.
Physical characteristics
Habitat
Buffaloes prefer open savannah grassland, and areas in the bushveld with abundant long grass. They are often found in reeds, near water. Buffaloes also regularly frequent dense Mopani-veld. Buffaloes occur naturally in Kruger National Park and surrounding private game reserves, Addo National Park and Hluhluwe / Imfolozi KwaZulu-Natal Park amongst others. They are also found in various provincial reserves and also on private game reserves and game farms where they were reintroduced.
Buffaloes are carriers of foot and mouth disease and they also suffer from bovine tuberculosis. Therefore, they are not allowed beyond certain areas (red line areas) as they might infect other animals, more particularly cattle. All buffaloes that are reintroduced outside of these areas, are bred elsewhere and are so-called disease free buffaloes.
Behavior
Diet
Buffaloes are primarily grazers (grass eaters), but will also browse on seed pods especially from acacia trees. They need water daily. Buffalo herds can have significant ecological impact on the veld. Being a bulk grazer, they are responsible for converting long grasslands into short grassy environments conducive to other browsers with more selective feeding habits.
Caring for the young Buffalo
Females have their first calves at age 4 or 5. They usually calve only once every two years. Although young may be born throughout the year, most births occur in the rainy season when abundant grass improves the nutritional level for the females when they are pregnant or nursing. The female and her offspring have an unusually intense and prolonged relationship. Calves are suckled for as long as a year and during this time are completely dependent on their mothers. Female offspring usually stay in the natal herd, but males leave when they are about 4 years old.
Enemies:
Lion, Leopard, Hyena, African Wild Dog, Crocodile, Humans. Mainly preyed upon by lions. When a herd member is attacked, others will rush to its defense. Collectively a number of buffalo are more than capable to stave off an attack by an entire pride of lions. A wounded buffalo bull is regarded as most dangerous by hunters, and is one of the reasons why this animal is included into the so-called 'big five'. This trait is the origin of many hunting adventures, myths and legends.
If attacked, the adults in the herd form a circle around the young and face outward. By lowering their heads and presenting a solid barrier of sharp horns, it is difficult for predators to seize a calf. This effective group defense even allows blind and crippled members of the herd to survive. Thus predators do not have a major impact on buffalo herds; it is the old, solitary-living males that are most likely to be taken by lions.
Outside the national parks in East Africa, buffaloes frequently come into conflict with human interests. They break fences and raid cultivated crops and may spread bovine diseases to domestic stock. They are still numerous in many parts of East Africa, even though they have been periodically devastated by the rinderpest virus. In other areas of Africa, buffaloes have been eliminated or their numbers greatly reduced.
Did you know?
Sources:
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_african_buffalo.html
http://www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/engbuffel.html?zenden=2&subsoort_id=1&bestemming_id=1
http://www.wildlifesouthafrica.com/blog/mammals-of-south-africa/african-buffalo-cape-buffalo-fact-file
The African, or Cape, buffalo is a member of the so-called "Big Five" group of animals, with the elephant, rhino, lion and leopard. Once popular trophies for hunters, these large and often dangerous animals have continued to capture the imagination. Buffaloes have earned a bad reputation from hunters and other people who come in close contact with them. They are unpredictable and can be dangerous if cornered or wounded. Though they have been known to ambush men and are often accused of deliberate savagery, they are usually placid if left alone.
There is only one genus and one species of buffalo in Africa, but this single species has two different types: the large savanna buffalo and the much smaller dwarf forest buffalo. There are also several intermediate types. The buffaloes found in the forests of Kenya and Tanzania are the savanna type, however, and not the true forest buffalo, which occurs only in West Africa.
The African buffalo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild water buffalo of Asia and its ancestry remains unclear.
Physical characteristics
- Savanna buffaloes are large, heavy cow like animals.
- They vary greatly not only in size, but in the shapes of their horns and color.
- Adults are usually dark gray or black (or even look red or white if they have been wallowing in mud of that color) and the young are often reddish-brown.
- The smaller forest buffalo maintains the red color even as an adult, although in western Uganda, many savanna buffaloes are also red or pale orange instead of black.
- Adults lose hair as they age.
- Both male and female buffaloes have heavy, ridged horns that grow straight out from the head or curve downward and then up.
- The horns are formidable weapons against predators and for jostling for space within the herd; males use the horns in fights for dominance.
- A large and powerful bovine, the African Buffalo reaches shoulder heights of up to 1.5 m and a mass of 750 kg.
- Both sexes have horns, those of the bulls are characterized by a heavy boss and upward curved horns.
Habitat
Buffaloes prefer open savannah grassland, and areas in the bushveld with abundant long grass. They are often found in reeds, near water. Buffaloes also regularly frequent dense Mopani-veld. Buffaloes occur naturally in Kruger National Park and surrounding private game reserves, Addo National Park and Hluhluwe / Imfolozi KwaZulu-Natal Park amongst others. They are also found in various provincial reserves and also on private game reserves and game farms where they were reintroduced.
Buffaloes are carriers of foot and mouth disease and they also suffer from bovine tuberculosis. Therefore, they are not allowed beyond certain areas (red line areas) as they might infect other animals, more particularly cattle. All buffaloes that are reintroduced outside of these areas, are bred elsewhere and are so-called disease free buffaloes.
Behavior
- Buffaloes need a good fresh water supply as they love to cool down and also drink water daily.
- Bulls especially like to lie in water and mud hollows where they can roll in the mud and take mud baths to rid themselves of flies, horseflies and ticks.
- Buffaloes are gregarious and in South Africa (Kruger National Park) herds of up to 500 and more can congregate, consisting of dominant bulls and cows.
- In other parts of Africa herds of more than a 1000 animals can gather.
- Bulls are often found alone or form small bachelor herds, consisting of older and younger animals and varying in number from a few animals to about 10 and more.
- Buffaloes graze mainly by night and early morning and rest up in shade during the heat of the day.
- They usually drink water during the day.
- Often at night buffalo herds will also lie down to rest for periods of time.
Diet
Buffaloes are primarily grazers (grass eaters), but will also browse on seed pods especially from acacia trees. They need water daily. Buffalo herds can have significant ecological impact on the veld. Being a bulk grazer, they are responsible for converting long grasslands into short grassy environments conducive to other browsers with more selective feeding habits.
Caring for the young Buffalo
Females have their first calves at age 4 or 5. They usually calve only once every two years. Although young may be born throughout the year, most births occur in the rainy season when abundant grass improves the nutritional level for the females when they are pregnant or nursing. The female and her offspring have an unusually intense and prolonged relationship. Calves are suckled for as long as a year and during this time are completely dependent on their mothers. Female offspring usually stay in the natal herd, but males leave when they are about 4 years old.
Enemies:
Lion, Leopard, Hyena, African Wild Dog, Crocodile, Humans. Mainly preyed upon by lions. When a herd member is attacked, others will rush to its defense. Collectively a number of buffalo are more than capable to stave off an attack by an entire pride of lions. A wounded buffalo bull is regarded as most dangerous by hunters, and is one of the reasons why this animal is included into the so-called 'big five'. This trait is the origin of many hunting adventures, myths and legends.
If attacked, the adults in the herd form a circle around the young and face outward. By lowering their heads and presenting a solid barrier of sharp horns, it is difficult for predators to seize a calf. This effective group defense even allows blind and crippled members of the herd to survive. Thus predators do not have a major impact on buffalo herds; it is the old, solitary-living males that are most likely to be taken by lions.
Outside the national parks in East Africa, buffaloes frequently come into conflict with human interests. They break fences and raid cultivated crops and may spread bovine diseases to domestic stock. They are still numerous in many parts of East Africa, even though they have been periodically devastated by the rinderpest virus. In other areas of Africa, buffaloes have been eliminated or their numbers greatly reduced.
Did you know?
- The African buffalo differs from the domesticated water buffalo found in other parts of the world, although they both superficially resemble one another.
- The buffalo is one of the most abundant of Africa's large herbivores. It depends on water and does not live in regions with less than 10 inches of rain a year.
- Lions are often found following large or smaller herds of buffalo, while waiting for a chance to catch and kill one.
- Buffaloes are not that easy to catch, due to the fact that they will not always run away, but will group together (often forming a circle around the young) and try to stand their ground in an effort to defend their young and each other.
- Lions are also often injured or killed by buffaloes, especially by the bulls which can cause a lot of damage with their horns as well as by stomping on the lions with their hard hooves.
- The Buffalo is one of the so called Big 5 animals, an old hunter’s term given to the 5 most dangerous animals to hunt in Africa.
- In the buffalo’s case it is mainly due to their dangerous and cunning nature.
- They do not have very good eyesight but their hearing and smell is exceptional.
- There are many hunting tales that mention wounded buffaloes setting ambushes for hunters that follow them, by circling back on their own tracks, to stand and wait for the hunters that are tracking them.
- A number of hunters were injured or killed by buffaloes through the years while hunting them.
- Bulls are heavier and larger than cows and also have much heavier horns.
- The boss (part of the horn closest to the head) of a bull is much thicker broader and thus more prominent compared to a cow and also much wider.
Sources:
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_african_buffalo.html
http://www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/engbuffel.html?zenden=2&subsoort_id=1&bestemming_id=1
http://www.wildlifesouthafrica.com/blog/mammals-of-south-africa/african-buffalo-cape-buffalo-fact-file
|
|
