Cape Buffalo

Syncerus caffer caffer

General Description

Scientific Name: Syncerus caffer caffer

Subspecies: No subspecies

Status: Near Threatened (decreasing)

Population Estimate: 400,000-500,000

Population in Assessed Areas: 45

Diet: Herbivore - browser & grazer.

Male Size: 500-1,000 Kgs

Female Size: 425-700 Kgs

Trophy Size: 101 cm minimum (SCI)

Generation Length: 9.4 years

Reproductive Season: Rainy Season

Time of Activity: Diurnal

Description: The African buffalo is a very robust species. Its shoulder height can range from 1.0 to 1.7 m (3.3 to 5.6 ft) and its head-and-body length can range from 1.7 to 3.4 m (5.6 to 11.2 ft). The tail can range from 70 to 110 cm (28 to 43 in) long.[4] . Cape buffaloes weigh 425 to 870 kg (937 to 1,918 lb) (males weigh about 100 kg (220 lb) more than females).The front hooves of the buffalo are wider than the rear, which is associated with the need to support the weight of the front part of the body, which is heavier and more powerful than the back.

A characteristic feature of the horns of adult male African buffalo (southern and eastern populations) is that the bases come very close together, forming a shield referred to as a "boss". From the base, the horns diverge downwards, then smoothly curve upwards and outwards and in some cases inwards and or backwards. In large bulls, the distance between the ends of the horns can reach upwards of one metre (the record being 64.5 inches 164 cm). The horns form fully when the animal reaches the age of 5 or 6 years old, but the bosses do not become "hard" until it reaches the age of 8 to 9 years old. In cows, the horns are, on average, 10–20% smaller, and they do not have a boss.

Ecology: The African buffalo is one of the most successful grazers in Africa, and may have once been one of the most common large herbivores on the African continent, exceeded only by fast breeding smaller antelopes like duikers, gazelles, and springbok. It lives in savannas, swamps and floodplains, as well as mopane grasslands, and the forests of the major mountains of Africa.

This buffalo prefers a habitat with dense cover, such as reeds and thickets, but can also be found in open woodland. While not particularly demanding in regard to habitat, they require water daily, and so they depend on perennial sources of water. Like the plains zebra, the buffalo can live on tall, coarse grasses. Herds of buffalo mow down grasses and make way for more selective grazers. When feeding, the buffalo makes use of its tongue and wide incisor row to eat grass more quickly than most other African herbivores. Buffaloes do not stay on trampled or depleted areas for long.

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Behavior: Herd size is highly variable. The core of the herds is made up of related females, and their offspring, in an almost linear dominance hierarchy. The basic herds are surrounded by sub-herds of subordinate males, high-ranking males and females, and old or invalid animals. Herd sizes range from just a few individuals, to massive herds of several thousand in times of plenty, especially where water is abundant. This is most common during the dry season, when populations are forced into close proximity around water sources.

African buffaloes engage in several types of group behavior. Females appear to exhibit a sort of "voting behavior". During resting time, the females stand up, shuffle around, and sit back down again. They sit in the direction they think they should move. After an hour of more shuffling, the females travel in the direction they decide. This decision is communal and not based on hierarchy or dominance.

When chased by predators, a herd sticks close together and makes it hard for the predators to pick off one member. Calves are gathered in the middle. A buffalo herd responds to the distress call of a threatened member and tries to rescue it. A calf's distress call gets the attention of not only the mother, but also the herd.

Buffaloes engage in mobbing behavior when fighting off predators. They have been recorded killing and chasing lions up trees and keeping them there for two hours, after the lions have killed a member of their group. Lion cubs can get trampled and killed. In one videotaped instance, known as the Battle at Kruger, a calf survived an attack by both lions and a crocodile after intervention of the herd.

Males have a linear dominance hierarchy based on age and size. Since a buffalo is safer when a herd is larger, dominant bulls may rely on subordinate bulls and sometimes tolerate their copulation. The young males keep their distance from the dominant bull, which is recognizable by the thickness of his horns.

Predation Other than humans, African buffaloes have few predators and are capable of defending themselves against (and killing) lions. Lions kill and eat buffaloes regularly, and in some regions, the buffaloes are the lions' primary prey. It often takes several lions to bring down a single adult buffalo, and the entire pride may join in the hunt. However, several incidents have been reported in which lone adult male lions have successfully brought down adult buffaloes, and often coalitions of male lions can be very successful in bringing down adult buffalos on a regular basis.

The cheetah, leopard, African wild dog and spotted hyena are normally a threat only to newborn calves, though larger clans of hyenas have been recorded killing cows (mainly pregnant ones) and, on rare occasions, full-grown bulls. Large packs of wild dogs (greater than 30) have been observed to hunt calves and sick adults.

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Diseases: . The African buffalo is susceptible to many diseases, including those shared with domestic cattle, such as bovine tuberculosis, corridor disease, and foot-and-mouth disease. As with many diseases, these problems remain dormant within a population as long as the health of the animals is good. These diseases do, however, restrict the legal movements of the animals and fencing infected areas from unaffected areas is enforced. Some wardens and game managers have managed to protect and breed "disease-free" herds which become very valuable because they can be transported. The threat of disease transmission between buffalo and cattle is one of the primary reasons why their presence often isn;t tolerated buy livestock owners, and has been used to excuse their eradication in pervious decades.

Reproduction: Females reach sexual maturity at around five years of age while males are sexually matured at four to six years old. Cape buffaloes mate and give birth only during the rainy seasons. Birth peak takes place early in the season, while mating peaks later. A bull closely guards a cow that comes into heat, while keeping other bulls at bay. This is difficult, as cows are quite evasive and attract many males to the scene. By the time a cow is in full estrus, only the most dominant bull in the herd/sub-herd is there.

Cows first calve at five years of age, after a gestation period of 11.5 months. Newborn calves remain hidden in vegetation for the first few weeks while being nursed occasionally by the mother before joining the main herd. Older calves are held in the center of the herd for safety.[36] The maternal bond between mother and calf lasts longer than in most bovids. That bonding ends when a new calf is born, and the mother then keeps her previous offspring at bay with horn jabs. Nevertheless, the yearling follows its mother for another year or so. Males leave their mothers when they are two years old and join the bachelor groups. Young calves, unusually for bovids, suckle from behind their mothers, pushing their heads between the mothers' legs. During the first year of life, cape buffalo are the most vulnerable to predation, but their survival rate quickly increases after this period of time.

Conservation Analysis

Current & Historic range: prior to European colonization of sub-Saharan Africa, cape buffalo, along with forest & savannah buffalo, ranged across millions of acres of habitat, and were likely one of the most dominant grazers on the continent. Their current range has since shrunk greatly, largely due to competition with livestock, poaching, and habitat loss.

Currently, the Cape Buffalo occurs in south-western Ethiopia (particularly Omo N.P.), southern Somalia and northern Kenya southwards to South Africa. It is patchily distributed throughout East Africa, southwards to Zambia, Malawi, some parts of Mozambique (small populations south of the Zambezi river with most in the north of the country), Niassa Reserve and Cabo Delgado areas; north-eastern Namibia (mainly eastern and western Caprivi and an introduced population in the Waterberg Plateau Park, central Namibia), Botswana (north of 20°S, Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe N.P.), and Zimbabwe (Hwange N.P., Matabeleland, Zambezi Valley, and Gonarezhou National Park). Small populations of Cape Buffalo still survive in some areas of south-east Angola.

In South Africa, Cape buffalo have been reintroduced to some areas from which they were formerly extirpated. They are currently widely distributed in Kruger N.P. and smaller populations persist in KwaZuluNatal and in many private reserves; the current population in Swaziland is a reintroduction. Several thousand also exist on high fence properties across South Africa, used for hunting and ecotourism.

Current & Historic Populations: Though it's unknown exactly how many cape buffalo once existed across their historical range, the number likley ranges into the tens of millions. during the early 20th century, around 95% of all buffalo populations died off due to widespread outbreaks of rinderpest, causing a serous decline in buffalo populations.

Current estimates of the Cape Buffalo population sits at around 473,000 individuals across their entire range, making them the most common of the 3 accepted subspecies of African Buffalo. Since 2013, there has been a 13% decline in this population, from around 513,000 individuals. Populations across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique seem to be rising, will east-african populations seem to declining, particuarly in Tanzania.

Threats to Species Survival: Habitat loss due to expansion of settlements and agriculture, livestock grazing and forest clearance is a major threat outside protected areas (and encroachment occurs where protection is ineffective). Buffalo are favoured target of meat hunters in many countries, and poaching has been a major contributor to the recent decline of many buffalo populations, including in some national parks. War and civil unrest especially in Central Africa over the last 30 years has had – and continues to have – a negative effect.

Buffalo are susceptible to drought, which has caused substantial declines in some populations in the Sahel at the end of the 1960s and during the 1990s in Tsavo, Serengeti/Mara, Gonarezhou and Kruger also strongly impacted buffalo populations. This also historically impacted populations in northern Namibia, before the construction of the veterinary fence. It also means that the introduction of artificial water sources can be highly beneficial to buffalo populations, and hope up new habitats to this species.

African Buffalo are susceptible to a range of indigenous and imported infectious diseases. In the past, numbers of African Buffalo suffered their most severe collapse during the great rinderpest epidemic of the 1890s, which, coupled with pleuro-pneumonia, caused mortalities as high as 95% among livestock and wild ungulates. Rinderpest was declared eradicated in Africa in 2011, but is still present in most other Southern African countries, though much less prevalent than during the 1890's.

Map of Cape Buffalo Distribution

* Cape Buffalo range shown in green below, though their actual historic range could have been larger, especially in South Africa and Namibia

Cape Buffalo Population Data

Country	Population Estimate	Population Status	Last Assessed
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Uganda
Tanzania
South Sudan
Rwanda
Nigeria
Mozambique
Malawi
Kenya
Gabon
Equatorial Guinea
Democratic Republic of Congo
Central African Republic
Cameroon
Angola
South Africa

*Further data on Cape Buffalo populations and harvest numbers outside of South Africa and Namibia are largely incomplete, and hence it has not been evaluated by us. It is our goal to expand into other African Nations soon, so please do be patient with us.

Recommended Conservation Actions:

Further resource and manage protected areas where Cape Buffalo exist.
Encourage the implementation of economic incentives that allow landowners to profit off the presence of healthy Cape Buffalo populations, whether that be through hunting or ecotourism.
Improve the ability for cape buffalo populations to move widely across a landscape, allowing for the restorations of historical seasonal migrations between ideal habitats, and access to key water sources.
Advocate for the removal of veterinary fences that have destroyed the ability for buffalo to return to large portions of their historic range.
Encourage further investigation into the ways that disease transmission from cape buffalo to cattle can be avoided, to encourage greater acceptance of this species on more landscapes.
Improve survey methods to get accurate population data, such as implementing long-term monitoring programs.

Economic & Cultural Analysis

Ecotourism Value: Very High

Hunting Value: Extremely High

Meat Value: High

Average Trophy Value: $6,000-20,000 USD

Meat Yield per Animal: 200-500 kg

Economic Value/Impacts: Cape buffalo present considerable value to both the ecotourism and hunting industries across their range, as well as to rural peoples that have likely hunted this species for thousands of years. Their large body size meant that each animal produces a considerable amount of meat, that can feed several families at a time.

Cape Buffalo, being the most common of Africa's "Big 5" are of considerable value to the ecotourism industry, Not only are they common within many concessions, but they are easy to spot, often gather in large herds, and their iconic horns draw the attention of victors. Though the presence of buffalo on a reserve serves as a drawcard for victors, they are still less valued than species like elephants, lions, giraffes or rhinos.

Arguably, the Cape Buffalos value to the hunting industry represents their greatest economic contributions to southern African nations. With a single trophy bull being hunted for a $6,000-$20,000 dollar trophy tag, only Elephants, Rhinos and sometimes Lions fetch a higher price. This incredible value has fueled much of their restoration in South Africa, across both private and community owned landscapes, with disease free buffalo bulls sourced from Kruger being sold at auction for over $180,000 USD per animal. They are also easier to contain than the other big-5 species, and are less valuable to poachers, hence they've been reintroduced to many areas for the sole purpose of hunting.

Cultural Value: Cape Buffalo have been pursued as prey by hunter gatherer tribes thousands of years, being a staple food source for communities in many areas. In all likelihood, buffalo would have been common prey for early peoples, due to their impressive size and large numbers across Southern Africa.

Cape Buffalo hold an important place in the hunting culture of Africa, particularly amongst early colonial hunters, and amount modern international hunters. Due to their aggressive nature, thy often earn the nicknames of "Black Death" and "widow maker", as when wounded, they'll often turn directly towards their assailant, and try to kill them. Though human deaths do occur due to this species (both provoked and unprovoked), they are less dangerous than other species like Hippos, Nile Crocodiles, Elephants, and large carnivores like Leopards and Lions.

Cape Buffalo Harvest Data

Region	Males Harvested	Females Harvested	Harvest Change	% of Population	Total Springbok Harvested 2024
Namibia (Incomplete)
Limpopo
Mpamalanga
KwaZulu Natal
North-West
Free State
Eastern Cape
Northern Cape
Western Cape
All of South Africa

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*Much of the data on Cape Buffalo harvest numbers across their range is largely incomplete, and hence it has not been evaluated by us. It is our goal to expand our data set as much as possible, so every data contribution is highly valuable to us.

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