Cape buffalo hunts in South Africa. Hunt Cape buffalo with South African Hunting Safaris.

African buffalo
(Syncerus caffer)

Cape buffalo are found in a wide variety of habitats in Southern Africa, including areas with rivers, lakes, and swamps. They are found at sea level as well as in mountainous altitudes. Cape buffalo like dense cover, but are found in open woodlands as well.

The Cape buffalo is an extremely large animal. The length from the head to the back ranges from 2.1 metres to 3 metres, and the shoulder height ranges from 1 metre to 1.7 metres. They have large heads and limbs along with a broad chest. The males weigh up to 900kg.

The ears on the Cape buffalo are large and droopy. The horns are either spread out and downward, upward, or out and back. In males, the two horns are joined by a "boss", which is a shield that covers the entire head. The colour of buffalo hair ranges from brown to black. Young cape buffalo have a dense covering of hair; adults have sparse hair; and very little hair is present on the very old.

Reproduction occurs throughout the year in Cape buffalo, but reproduction peaks are associated with seasonal rainfall. Usually only one calf is born, and it weighs around 40 kg. Males leave their mother after two years to join a bachelor group.

Cape buffalo are highly sociable animals that travel in large, non-territorial herds. The herds are composed of related cows. Herds include females and their young from the past two seasons. During the dry season, the males form what are known as bachelor groups, which contain on average 3 - 4 males. Within the bachelor groups, there is a dominance hierarchy. Members of the group fight each other, usually over an oestrous female. Some old males live apart from the group permanently. African buffalo are extremely powerful and deadly, and run at speeds up to 57 km/hr (Nowak, 1983).

Cape buffalo are grazing animals. In the dry season, the pastures diminish and the buffalo move toward water or a depression in the ground and feed off of low nutrient grass. Once the rainy season begins, grasses increase considerably and are heavily grazed by the buffalo. Cape buffalo spend 8 1/2 to 10 1/3 hours a day grazing. These animals graze slightly more at night than in the day, and also water once every day (Estes, 1991).