The term buffalo must not be confused with the colloquial use of the term in other parts of the world. American bison are frequently and incorrectly referred to as buffalo. The African species is not closely related to either the North American bison or the Asian water buffalo. Africa actually has two forms of buffalo: a small version endemic to West African forest known as the Red Buffalo (a subspecies very little is known about) and the savanna species, also called the black buffalo or the Cape Buffalo.

Our current understanding of the subject reflects that bovines evolved in Asia around 7 million years ago, which makes them the most recent of the advanced ruminants. From this region they radiated widely throughout tropical and subtropical Asia, probably crossing an ancient land bridge into what is today North America. It is not known how these animals were able to radiate as far south into Africa as they have.

Description
While not closely related, buffalo look remarkably similar to domestic cattle but are generally black in colour. They may grow to massive size with recorded weights reaching 870 Kgs (1910lbs.). A buffalo's most distinctive feature is its horns. These are present in both males and females. The horns arise from a large structure on top of their heads called a 'boss'. This structure is actually made up of two 'boss halves'.

The horns are bilaterally symmetrical and grow outward from the centre of the boss, eventually curving upward and back inward in a gentle arc. Females have the same shape but are generally lighter in build. In males the boss halves grow together forming a 'shield' in front and above its eyes. This is the part that makes contact when two males butt each other. The greatest recorded length for buffalo horns was 1.295m (4.27ft) measured over the outside curve from the centre of the boss to the tip of the horn.

Statistics
Length - MALE 2.5m (8.3ft) FEMALE 2.36m (7.8ft)
Shoulder Height - MALE 1.6m (5.3ft) FEMALE1.5m (5ft)
Weight MALE 680Kg (1500lbs.) FEMALE 600Kg (1320lbs.)
Gestation period : 330 days
Food preference : Grazer
Maximum speed : 56kph (35mph)
Social grouping : Large herds
Longevity : ±20 - 25 years
 

Food and Eating
Buffalo are bulk grazers and will eat a wide variety of grass types. These include the longer dry grasses, which they seem to prefer to new growth shoots. By eating the longer grass buffalo play a very important role in the grazing succession ecology of a region. By selecting this type of grass they effectively open up that portion of grassland to other species who can only, or prefer to, eat shorter grass.

Buffalo will range over a very wide area in search of the plentiful food supply that is necessary to satisfy the needs of these large herds. Recorded movements have shown these animals to walk up to 17 Km (10.5 miles) a day. These treks often take them a fair distance from water, a substance that they are dependant upon daily.

Buffalo will drink (when possible) directly after feeding in the morning and again before feeding in the afternoon. Their water intake averages between 60 and 80 litres (16 - 21 gallons) per day. The males often indulge in mud wallowing when near water, particularly during the hotter parts of the day. As well as a (minimal) cooling effect, this also protects the animals against biting flies, and helps in reducing their external parasite (ticks) load. Since females almost never engage in this activity it is assumed that wallowing may also serve an additional function, probably social in nature.

Buffalo prefer not to graze during the heat of the day (being quite sensitive to heat); most foraging occurs in the early morning, late afternoon and at night. During the midday heat these large ruminants will lie up in deep bush or in the shade of trees to ruminate. In addition to grazing and drinking, buffalo also exhibit other common practices in order to obtain their mineral requirements. These include using salt licks (if available), licking termite mounds and licking the mud that has adhered to their companions. Although they are able to consume a large amount of grass, it is not nutrient rich. Therefore 20 out of 24 hours a day are spent grazing or ruminating.

Social Behaviour
These gregarious herbivores gather into herds that may range from a few individuals to over 3000 animals - a sight certainly worth seeing. Common herds are a mixed group of males and females of all ages, from new calves to old bulls. Smaller bachelor herds form frequently and solitary old bulls are also found. Within each of these herds there is a strict hierarchy based on fighting ability which obviously relates to the size of the animal. Female rank is determined by reproductive status, with mothers of young calves being afforded the highest rank.

Within large herd structures, rank is very important as it determines the position in the herd where the animal can stay. Those of higher rank tend to be in the front and centre of the herd. This affords them better grazing and maximum protection from predators. Conversely those of low rank travel and feed at the back of the herd, and have to be content with graze that had been rejected by those up front. These animals are the most prone to predation and are frequently culled from the back of the herd by lion. As herds get larger the hierarchy becomes less well defined; the stronger individuals meet less often, if at all, in the milling community of thousands of animals.

The herd unit is structured differently depending on the season. During the wet season the large herds fragment into smaller units as water and grazing becomes more plentiful. In a similar vein, bachelor herds of 10 - 30 animals get to exploit smaller ecological niches as they do not need to find large areas of grazing land and water to satisfy the needs of many animals. Movement of the herd is determined by those in the front quarter, i.e. those with high rank.

Typically a herd will move between established grazing and water and the total distance (although dependant on habitat) tends to average out at only 6 Km (3.7 miles). These travels occur within reasonably defined but not defended home ranges. Again the home range is completely dependant on habitat and may differ between 60 and 250 Km2 (23 - 100 miles2 ).To emphasise the much smaller niche required by smaller herds, one bachelor group of 10-15 animals was able to establish a home range of only 3 Km2 (1.1 mi2).

A frequent observation by anybody who has ever seen lion attacking buffalo is that if the buffalo all turned and ran at the lion, the predator would turn and flee. Although this scenario is not often played out, a number of these incidences have been documented. In one particular case a whole pride of lions were 'treed' (chased into a tree and kept there) by a herd of buffalo after the pride had killed one of the herd.

Breeding
As is common with many mammals, calving coincides with the optimal period of grass growth in December through to February. Since buffalo have an 11.5 month gestation period, most mating occurs in January through to March of the previous year.

After her ± 330 day gestation she will produce a single calf weighing in at 30 - 50 Kg (66-110 lbs.). New-born calves can stand and suckle within ten minutes, but it takes several weeks before they are able to follow the herd properly. Calves will continue to suckle for up to 15 months or until the mother produces another calf. The calf remains close by her at all times for at least two years.

Female calves always retain a strong social bond to their mothers but the males quickly disperse into the main body of the herd. Even under optimum conditions only 30 - 45% of calves will reach the relative maturity of 2 years old. While still young they are susceptible to predation by lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog and spotted hyaena. The adult buffalo can generally fight off all but the lions.

Disease
The viral disease of cattle, pigs and buffalo, Rinderpest, was introduced to Africa twice, both times by the Italian military from the Middle East. The first outbreak in 1884 was stopped in the Sudan. The second outbreak in 1889 started in Ethiopia and cases were reported in Southern Africa 7 years later, probably due to ox-wagon transports. The disease ranks among the worst pandemics to strike African game in the past two millennia. It is highly contagious, spreading by aerial and fluid transmission. Its mortality (kill rate) is 100%. Estimates say that only 1 out of every 10 000 animals infected, survived.

In an attempt to halt the spread, a 1000 Km (620 mile) veterinary fence was erected across the whole of South Africa, but to no avail. It came down the west coast into the Cape and then up along the south and east coasts, affecting the whole country. Of the half a million buffalo in Southern Africa all but 50 died. Along with the buffalo more than 95% of the cattle on the whole continent also succumbed to the disease. The only real benefit was that the lack of buffalo and cattle led to the demise of tsetse fly. Rinderpest does not affect humans. Rinderpest is a disease of the past, but others have taken its place. Much of our current population are carriers of foot and mouth disease.

This does not kill the animals, but can cause them to lose condition. More serious is that buffalo can transmit it to domestic cattle, who are very susceptible and do die from it. It is for this reason that there is supposed to be strict control that does not allow domestic animals to get within 10 Km (6 miles) of game reserves. In the majority of regions veterinary cordon fences are in place, but control is sorely lacking. The good news, however, is that populations of disease free buffalo have survived and are thriving. Thus the price distinction between diseased and disease-free buffalo was made. The transport of buffalo is very strictly controlled and new reserves outside of foot and mouth endemic areas may only purchase and transport disease-free animals. A whole module on wildlife health and diseases is available at the Wildlife Management Course.

(Source: www.wildlifecampus.co.za)