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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing the African buffalo. African buffaloes roam throughout sub-Saharan Africa in protected reserves. Historically, their range was far greater but today they live in habitats fragmented by human development and their populations haven’t recovered from the cattle plague which devastated southern Africa in the late 19th century. There are a few subspecies of African buffalo, though the most distinct forms are those who live in savannahs, which are more commonly known as Cape buffaloes, and those who live in forests, also known as forest buffaloes. Cape buffaloes are larger and darker in color than forest buffaloes. They can handle being out in the sun for long periods of time, but they’ll seek shade and water when possible. Forest buffaloes tend to stay in forested places and forage in open areas around water sources.

Also, it feels worth noting that these aren’t water buffalo. Water buffalo are native to India and parts of southeast Asia. For some reason when searching “water buffalo” on google image search, African buffaloes also show up, so we just want to be clear that these are different species - though that’s not to say African buffaloes don’t love water! African buffaloes are often found near water and enjoy spending time in water to cool off. They’ll roll around in mud to give themselves protection from the sun and to rid their skin of parasites. Oxpeckers, a type of bird often found living on the backs of African buffaloes, also help to pick off these pesky creatures, though some observations suggest the oxpeckers themselves may also be nuisances to the buffalo.

Perhaps the most iconic part of the African buffalo’s physique are their horns. Both male and female African buffaloes have large, curved horns though the horns on males are larger than the females’. In males, the horns can fuse into a shield-like structure called a ‘boss’. This is less common in forest buffalo males who have smaller horns and come in a smaller stature in general. Cape buffalos, who can reach well over 1,500 pounds (700kg) can be twice the size of forest buffaloes. To maintain their large size, these bovines eat grasses, aquatic vegetation, and leaves. In turn, they are hunted by lions, leopards, and crocodiles, though it’s typically only solitary individuals, typically males, or babies who are taken due to their strong hide and herd mentality.

African buffalo herds typically consist of females and their calves who are attended by males along the outside of the group. There can also be smaller Bachelor groups and even huge supergroups without much social hierarchy that can reach thousands of members, but these form and dissolve depending on the time of year. On average, Cape buffalo herds range from 50 to 500 individuals while forest buffalo groups are far smaller maxing out at about twenty members. If they can avoid predators and other threats, African buffaloes may live to be twenty years old, though on average they barely reach half this age. They’re born after a 340 gestation period and reach reproductive maturity starting around four years old. Females have one baby every other year and the breeding season typically occurs near the end of the wet season.

For more facts on the African buffalo, check out the links below. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today. Thank you to our Patrons SpikeSpiegel93, Dad, and everyone else for their support of this channel! Thank you to these viewers for today’s request! And thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!