African buffalo

Cape Buffalo

The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), is a bovine (cloven hoofed animal). It is also known as the Cape buffalo. They are not closely related to other bovines. Because of its aggressive behavior, it has not been domesticated like the domestic Asian water buffalo.

Appearance

They can be up to 3.2 meters high, 6 meters long, and can weigh from 800-1200 kg. The males are bigger than the females. The African buffalo's power and size make it easy to defend itself. They have been known to kill spotted hyenas, Nile crocodiles, lions, and other wild predators, and sometimes even humans. The African buffalo is part of the African big five. The phrase "big five" was introduced by hunters. The big five are the hardest animals to hunt, and the African buffalo is considered the most dangerous. They are herbivores.

African Buffalo Media

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  Male African buffalo with red-billed oxpecker, partly a symbiotic relationship and partly parasitic

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  A pair of African buffalo resting inside Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.

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  Skull of an African buffalo

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  Syncerus-caffer-Masaai-Mara-Kenya crop

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  Diergaarde Blijdorp 2014 - Syncerus caffer nanus

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  nationalpark pendjari - büffel

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  African buffalo skull decomposing in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

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  Afrikanische Büffel (Syncerus caffer)

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  Two male African Buffaloes, Syncerus caffer, Lake Nakuru, Kenya, squaring off. They just shoved once or twice, and then one—I think the one on the right—backed away. The time stamp is 10 hours too early.

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  Ernest Hemingway poses with a Cape buffalo he shot in 1953