The buffaloes are largest animals in the Bovidae family and they are divided into two categories which are the African buffaloes also known as the Cape buffalo and then the Asian water buffalo also known as the wild water buffaloes. The African/cape buffaloes are again subdivided into two groups, there are the largest in size which retain the name of cape buffaloes and they are found in the south and East African countries. There is also the group of smaller ones in size is called the African forest buffaloes and these are found in areas with forest like in the central and western Africa.
The buffaloes look a lot more like the American bison but although bison belong to the bovines family, they don’t belong to the same genes as the true buffalo. There are other bovines which include the domestic cattle, the oxen, the yaks, also the four-horned antelopes and the bongos as well as the kudus, among others basing on the list provided by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
Distinctive features of buffaloes
Buffaloes have a dark gray or black color skin and they look more like bulls. On many occasions, the buffalo are confused to be bison probably because the early settlers in American referred to the bison as buffaloes since they are lot alike. They are widely known to be very dangerous animals because in a year they kill over 200 people
Although they all huge, the Asian water buffalo is the largest among all bovine because it can grow up to 8 or 9 feet long that is from its head to the rump and then the tail measures an extra 3.3 feet long. In terms of weight, buffaloes weigh between 700 – 1,200 kgs. The cape or African buffaloes are smaller, they grow up to 4.26 to 4.92 feet that is from the head to the hoof and then weigh between 425 – 870 kg.
Among the male Asian buffaloes, the horns are curved backward and they can get a long as 5 feet which is 1.5 meters. Also the females have horns on them except that they are a lot smaller in size.
Where and how buffaloes live.
When the buffaloes live depend on the type of buffalo for instance the water buffalo are seen in the tropical and the subtropical forested areas of Asia. They get the name after the fact that they spend most of their time in water since they have extra wide hooves that keep them from into the bottom of swamps, ponds and rivers
Meanwhile, the cape buffalo don’t live in water but never wonder off beyond 20 kilometers away from a water source. They mostly live in grasslands, in the savannas, in the swamps, they are also seen in the lowland floodplains, and they also live in the mixed forest. Rather than spending a day swimming in water, they will lie under trees if they need to keep cool and also take a nap. During the night, they graze under that cool air. In Uganda, buffaloes are found in Murchison falls, Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo, Semlki and Kidepo Valley national parks. They are among the animals you will see during your game drives in the park and boat rides.
Their Behavior and ecology
Buffaloes are very social there they live in group of about 50-500 members and a group of them is called a herd. Water buffaloes make their herds basing on gender but the young males do keep with their mothers’ herd for as long as 3 years after which they find a herd of males. In a group of females, there is usually about 30 adult females and the others are their offspring including the young male. Meanwhile in the Male herds are normally 10 members. The African buffaloes don’t segregate therefore their herds are usually mixed up with both the male and female but there are still some few herds composed of all males although those would be the old males. It is the African buffaloes that make the biggest of usually 1,000 plus members.
Also the African buffaloes are so democratic that every time they have to they will go with the majority’s choice. Once they are ready, they stand facing in the direction each one of them wants to take and they will take that direction where majority faced. They will follow the head female to their destination. African buffaloes are known to be so aggressive with a tendency of attacking and killing humans. They protect each other and care for the sick as well as the old members in the herd for instance they will fight off a predator that tries to attack a vulnerable member of the herd.
Unlike the Asian buffaloes, African buffaloes have never been kept in captivity; they are always in the wilderness. The Asian were domesticated over 5,000 years ago because people used to feed on their meat and milk, use their horns and leather skins form jewel and other material stuff. They were also very useful in transportation of languages from one place to another.
Except the humans who are the main threat, these cape buffaloes have very few predators, there other threat is the lions and may be the crocodiles but they are still capable of protecting themselves from lions too.
What buffaloes feed, or Eat
All buffaloes are herbivores in nature therefore they feed on only the green vegetation. They basically feed grass, on herbs, shrubs and trees sometimes if there is scarcity of grass however the Asian buffaloes can also feed on aquatic plants.
Maturity, reproduction and life span
Buffaloes reach sexual maturity at 3.5-5 years depending on the gender and once they are ready, mating process will begin until a female conceives. The gestation period is almost a year long as it takes about 340 days and just like all mammals, they give birth to their young ones alive, normally it’s just one calf but may be two on rare occasions. After birth, the mother will keep around and care for her infant for 3 years and at that age, if the infant is a male, it will be ready to move the male herds but the female infant stays with the mother’s herd. The females herds can get pregnant every year.
The Asia or water buffaloes can live up to 25 years and the African buffaloes lives a bit longer as it goes up to 26 years basing on the information from the University of Michigan.
The Conservation status
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has noted that the Asian buffaloes are more endangered than the African ones and this is probably because of their close contact with the humans. This is the reason they are very few with a population that is not more than 4,000 animals in the whole of Asia.
The cape/ African buffaloes are under serious danger which is why their population is higher shooting up to 900,000 animals across Africa.
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