Dave Taylor's African Safari: Trophic Level II - The Herbivores - Buffalo

Dave Taylor's African Safari: Trophic Level II - The Herbivores - Buffalo - Page 36

Trophic Level II - The Herbivores
Buffalo
Page 36

Syncerus caffer

Length: 170-340 cm (67-133")

Height: 100-170 cm (39-67")

Tail: 50-80 cm (20-31")

Weight: 250-850 kg (550-1870 lb.)

Status: Common, though it has a much reduced range when compared to its range before the rinderpest epidemic in the 1890s.

Habitat: Buffalo need areas where there is sufficient water, shade, browsing material and grass. They are most abundant in well-watered savannas, swamps, grasslands and forests. Buffalo have low tolerance for heat and seek refuge from the hottest part of the days by moving into the shade of forests, wooded gullies or by lying in muddy wallows and swamps.

Buffalo were once widely distributed in Africa until the rinderpest epidemics of the late 1800s and early 1900s. As the only true member of the cattle family in Africa, they were especially hard hit by the cattle-borne disease. In parts of their range they were totally eliminated.

Today, rinderpest is controlled, but the buffalo have not re-populated much of their old habitats because humans have taken over the land for farms and ranches. The same factors that created ideal habitat for buffalo (humid, well watered savannas) also met the needs of agriculture. Buffalo are now rare or absent from much of this land. They continue to exist in bushlands, forests and savannas that are protected in parks and game reserves or on lands not deemed suitable for agriculture.

Food: Buffalo are browsers and grazers. They eat the foliage of low level trees and bushes. They also feed on grasses including tall mature grasses that are too coarse for other ruminants. The trampling of the herds as they graze helps maintain forest glades by preventing tree growth.

Buffalo have massive molars and pre-molars for grinding up their food. Like domestic cattle, they possess a prehensile tongue that allows them to pull in large quantities of grass.

Buffalo spend 5 to 10 hours a day feeding. They are active during both the day and the night.

Social System: Like eland, buffalo bulls rely on dominance to assert their rights to resources. These resources include breeding rights, the best resting places, wallows and food. Cow buffalo also have a dominance hierarchy. Bulls are dominant over the cows.

Neither sex possesses a territory. The herds roam over a broad range. In forest habitats, the size of the range might be as small as 10 square kilometers (3.8 square miles). On the plains, the range will be much larger. Larger herds need more space.

Buffalo constantly lick each other and possess a typical "barnyard" smell. This scent helps them identify each other and cement their herds.

Mixed herds containing mature bulls, cows and juveniles are common. Within the herd are smaller sub-herds. These are made up of related cows and their offspring. There is a strong attachment to the herd and groups tend to cluster together. Female calves stay with their mother's herd. There is also a strong loyalty to their range and buffalo are reluctant to leave it, even during droughts.

Divided Herds

During these tough times, larger herds will divide up into smaller herds made up of associated clans. Each clan is led by an old cow and they follow her to waterholes and pastures. Four or five breeding bulls accompany each clan.

Male calves stay with their mother's sub-herd until their size and horns distinguish them from the cows. Mature bulls begin to harass them as these sexual differences appear. The adolescent males seek out peer groups and form small sub-herds of their own age group. These peer groups avoid the older bulls.

The size of the boss, the area from which the horns grow on the animal's head, is a good indication of a buffalo's age and sex. In mature bulls, the boss will completely cover the animal's forehead. This protects the skull from damage when the giants fight each other for dominance. Cows do not have a complete boss.

Older bulls, past their prime, will seek small groups of other bulls their age. Once they leave the herd, they seldom return. Sometimes, a younger bull will join them for a time. Hunters refer to these bulls as askari (Swahili for "police" or "guard"). The young bulls are thought to protect the larger bulls and alert them to danger.

Behavior: Buffalo have an 11.5 month gestation period. Births peak early in the rainy season and mating occurs late in that season. Cows have their first calf at age five. Thereafter, they will have a single calf every one and a half years. A newborn calf can stand within ten minutes but it will be several hours before it can follow its mother. It will be several weeks before the calf will be able to keep up with the herd. During that time, its mother is its best, and often only, defense against predators.

When the cow has a new calf, it will become belligerent towards last year’s calf and drive it away. Even so, the yearling will stay close to its mother for another year or so.

Bulls mature at 8 to 9 years old. At that time, they seek out cows for breeding purposes. The presence of bulls in the herd helps deter predators.

Buffalo are aggressive animals. Bulls will even challenge elephants and rhinos. They usually back down from such tests of courage. Young elephant bulls will often chase buffalo just for fun.

Single bull buffalo encountered on safari should always be watched warily. Bulls by themselves can be belligerent and have been known to charge vehicles.

There are countless stories told of wounded buffalo waiting or even stalking the hunter that shot them. Many hunters have met their ends because of these animals. A buffalo will toss its victim or "horn" it, hooking its massive horn into its enemy's body. Once an enemy is down, the bull will use its boss to repeatedly pound the victim until it is dead.

Lions know this too and fear the danger. Buffalo are rarely hunted by single lions. Buffalo bulls will stand and face lions. They will even chase them off. Lions generally flee. Their best hope is to stampede the herd and separate a cow or yearling from the herd.

Some lion prides specialize in hunting buffalo. They are larger prides than those which have regular access to more plentiful, smaller game.

Old, senile bulls often meet their end when they are discovered by lions. Sometimes they don't even bother to defend themselves as they fall under the weight of the hunter’s attack.

Predators: Lions and spotted hyenas are the most common predators of buffalo. Crocodiles have been known to take a buffalo when one is vulnerable at a river crossing.

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