The first episode of "Lives in the wild" was a success with a clinical and explanatory article. Today's episode on "Lives in the wild", we will be talking about the African buffalo which can be called the Cape buffalo.

Before we proceed into today's topic, I will like to welcome you all once again to the wild.

Today's topic on " Lives in the wild", we will learn about the beauty enclosed in the African wilds. But before we start properly, I will like to share the bio-data of the African buffalo with you all as a headstart.

The African buffalo

The Cape buffalo in another term the African buffalo belongs to the Animalia kingdom, classified under the phylum of Chordata and fall in the Artiodactyla order. The African buffalo is a mammal and its family is called the Bovidae.
The genus of the African buffalo is the Syncerus and its species is called Caffers.

---

Having known the bio-data of the African buffalo, I will be taking you all through the full details of the African buffalo in an explanatory format.

Classification:

The African buffalo which is known as the Cape buffalo is an African wild cow. The African buffalo is divided into several subspecies, which I am going to give a summary about below.
The subspecies of the African buffalo are basically five(5) and they are:

• S.c nanus:

  Buffalos seem to appear in different sizes and appearance. Though, the tough and rugged look still runs through all its subspecies.
  The S.c nanus which is also known as the Dwarf buffalo or the Forest buffalo is the smallest of all subspecies of the African buffalo. Its body weight is kind of close to the of a Zebra which makes it three(3) times lighter in body mass than the largest buffalo's dominating race which is the Cape buffalo.
  This subspecies is common in Central Africa and West African forest region and it is reddish in color with darker patches on the shoulders and the forehead.

• S.c aequinoctialis:

  
  This subspecies of the African buffalo is known as the Nile buffalo. The Nile buffalo is similar to the dominating race, which is the Cape buffalo, but the Nile buffalo is a little smaller than the cape buffalo. The Nile buffalo is lighter in color than the Cape buffalo and sometimes found in the West African region.

• S.c brachyceros:

  
  This subspecies of buffalos is also known as the88Sudanese buffalo** and they are mostly found in West Africa.

• S.c mathewsi:

  
  This subspecies of African buffalo are uncommon and are not globally recognized. They are found in the mountain regions of Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda. This subspecies of buffalos are also known as Virunga buffalo or Mountain buffalo

• S.c caffer:

  
  This is the largest subspecies of the African buffalos and its males at full grown age almost weigh a ton. This subspecies of African buffalo are known as the Cape buffalo or the Southern savanna buffalo. This subspecies is largely found in the Southern region of Africa and its color is the darkest of other subspecies.

Above, are subspecies of the **African buffalos with little explanation on their characteristics.

NB:

The origin or ancestry of the African buffalo is unclear to researchers and the question of how the **African buffalo come to be is still in the air.

---

Physical characteristics:

The African buffalo as said earlier is an African large bovine. This large mammal weighs between 500kg to 1000kg with males more larger and heavier than the females. The males tend to reach the max of the upper-class weight and the females taking the lower weight class. These bovines are dark in complexion with large ears which have hairs around its edge.

Both male and female African buffalo have horns but there is a difference between the male and the female buffalo's horn. The male buffalo's horn is larger than that of the female buffalos. These horns on the African buffalo are hook-shaped. Reason for this is because the horn curve downwards and smoothly upwards and outwards and some, inwards.

The bases of the horns are close together and therefore forming a shield known as "Boss".
The tail length of an African buffalo can range from 70cm to 110cm, the shoulder height ranging from 1.0m to 1.7m, the head-and-body length ranging from 1.7m to 3.4m. The *African buffalo have hooves both at the front and back legs. The front hooves are wider than the rear which is a necessity to provide support to the weight of the front part of the body because it is heavier and powerful than the back body.

Distribution:

Buffalos are known to dwell in the savanna and grasslands. The African buffalo can be mostly found in the sub-savanna of the South African region.

The skull of an African buffalo [Image source: pixabay CCO Licensed]

Habitat:

African buffalo can be found in open woodland. But being one of the most successful grazers in Africa, the African buffalo prefers to inhabit semi-arid bushland with dense cover. Their need for water makes them inhabit coastal savanna and moist lowland rainforest.

Ecology:

The African buffalo is a terrestrial mammal which has a collaborative relationship with other wild lives like theCattle egrets and Oxpeckers which helps the buffalos to remove bitting and sucking insects from the skin of the buffalo.

Behavior:

The African buffalo live in a herd of 50 to 500 and the female buffalos create a caucus of stronger bonds with their calves. The bond of different types in the herds helps in the protection of weaker buffalos. In this massive herd of buffalos, the sub-group formed by the female African buffalos are more than a couple with each group having grown male buffalos associating with each unit of female buffalos and sometimes, the males associate with themselves separately.

With their home ranging from 126 to 1,075 square kilometer, African buffalos tend to be non-migratory and they spend 18 hours of the day foraging and moving. African buffalos also wallow in mud in order to keep their body cool.

Reproduction:

Just like gestation period in the human which last 9-10 months, the African buffalo gestation period is a little bit longer. The gestation period of female African buffalo always takes 340 days which is 11-12 months. Before gestation, the female buffalos do cycle every 23 days and are in estrus for 5-6 days. After this, gestation for 340 days commences after which one calf is given birth to.

The calves which are born with reddish-brown color, a thick hair cover and weighing up to 60kg are watched over by their mothers for protection against predators. African buffalo reaches sexual maturity after 4-5 years and on the long run, the African buffalo can live up to 28 years.

Predation:

African buffalos are close neighbors to Lions and Hyenas in the savanna and crocodile because of their need of water and mud to cool off. Though, these big guns are no easy game because of their toughness and the power of the herd. But the calves are highly vulnerable to attack by both small and big cats.

Do you know?

• Do you know that African buffalos kill more people than Lion do (average of 200 people per year)?
• Do you know that African male buffalos fight each other to dominate sub-unit of the herd?

Contents sources:

• Profile of the African buffalo
• Physical charactristics of African buffalo
• Habitat and distribution of African buffalo
• Ecology of African buffalo
• Behavior of African buffalo

You may be interested in my past article on Lives in the wild:

Aardwolf

See you next time, thanks for reading.