DIET: Herbivores. The American Buffalo can be found living in the plains, river valleys, and prairies … At Billy’s Lodge, there is a skywalk which provides the perfect vantage point to watch both buffalo and elephant herds wander past. African buffalo are preyed on by lions, cheetahs, crocodiles, leopards hyenas, and humans, although they are only hunted by the experienced, as they are highly dangerous when threatened or attacked, and many people are killed each year by the buffalo. Vocalizations are associated with different activities or situations. They are found in the swamps, floodplains as well as mopane grasslands and forests of the major mountains of Africa. A characteristic feature of the horns of adult male African buffalo is fusion of their bases, forming a continuous bone shield referred to as a "boss". They face conservation challenges including habitat fragmentation and conflicts with humans because of their size and aggression. Buffalo Facts | Southern Africa Wildlife Guide The African buffalo is traditionally known as the meanest beast in the bush, prone to launch a killing charge at the drop of a hat. Here are our 10 whacky facts about the Cape buffalo: Buffalo are actually fantastic swimmers. We asked South African hunter turned conservationist Lindsay Hunt, featured in the Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom special Buffalo Warrior, to give us 10 surprising facts about Cape buffalo. The African buffalo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. Interesting African buffalo Facts: African buffalo is large animal that can reach 6.8 to 11 feet in length, 3.2 to 5.6 feet in height and weight between 660 and 1900 pounds. Ezulwini Game Lodges offer guests the perfect place to view the big five, one of which is the Cape buffalo. Savannas are the area where the buffalo graze, while the marshes serve as wallows and help with the insects. Oct 11, 16 10:26 PM The African buffalo is not endangered and has a population of 900,000, according to the African Wildlife Foundation. Interesting facts about ring-tailed lemurs, Interesting facts about breakfast cereals. Facts are sorted by community importance and you can build your personalized lexicon It is related to the Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer), Sudanese Buffalo (Syncerus caffer brachyceros) and Nile Buffalo (Syncerus cafferaequinoctialis). Many stories are told about how they ambush hunters that have wounded them during hunting expeditions. Physical Description. Buffalo are bovids, which means they have a keratin sheath covering … The African buffalo is among the largest herbivores in Africa. Syncerus caffer caffer (the Cape buffalo) is the nominate subspecies and the largest one, with large males weighing up to 910 kg (2,010 lb). WEIGHT: 1,500 to 2,650 lbs. African Buffaloes, also called Affalo or Cape Buffaloes, are large African bovid that inhabit the forests, woodlands and savannahs of Africa. Despite livingin protected areas, poaching continues to be a problem, as these buffalo are prizedfor their meat as well as their horns. Savannah buffalo live in large herds of 50-1000 animals, comprised of smaller subgroups of bachelor males, females and their young, or juveniles. The horns are used for defense and to determine dominance for mating. African Buffalo. The African buffalo is not endangered and has a population of 900,000, according to the African Wildlife Foundation. Numbering at over 670,000, the majority of the population today lives inprotected areas, where hunting is limited and strictly controlled. They’re also present in South Africa, and along the southwest coast in countries like the west African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin and the southern part of Burkina Faso. Fun Facts for Kids The African buffalo is one of the most successful grazers in Africa. Learn African buffalo facts, download lesson plans, and see field guide photos, video stories and live Kenya webcam with Mpala Live! Although not the fastest bovine at 35mph (56kph), African Buffalo can still outrun lions. Pages: 24, Paperback, Independently published. See what AWF is doing to prevent this species from becoming endangered. The herd is led by a wise matriarch who chooses grazing areas and napping sites and schedules throughout most of the year. Buffalo Facts. They are classified into three sub-species: Cape buffalo, West African Savanna buffalo and Forest buffalo. The African buffalo is not an ancestor of domestic cattle and is only distantly related to other larger bovines. The Cape buffalo is the only member of the buffalo and cattle tribe (Bovini) that occurs naturally in Africa. African forest buffalo are very rarely observed in the unbroken canopy of the forests. This page was last changed on 20 June 2013, at 05:29. How the misnomer came to be is murky, but it’s thought early American settlers called bison “buffalo” because they look similar—large, brown, hulking beasts that graze—but the two animals are actually from different genuses within the bovine subfamily. The adult buffalo’s horns are its characteristic feature; they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield referred to as a “boss”. Body of African buffalo is covered with hair that can be brownish to black in color. This creates shield on their heads known as a “boss”. There’s also the forest buffalo, the West Africa savanna buffalo, and the Central Africa savanna buffalo. A pest to ranchers, a prize to hunters, and a temperamental tank to anything that bothers it, African buffalo roam by the thousands in sub-Saharan Africa. And Nile crocodiles Buffalos so feared by hunters that have wounded them during hunting.! 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