African buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

African buffalos are stocky members of the cow family. The females form protective herds whilst the males are mostly solitary. Members of the herd are thought to 'vote' on which direction the herd should move.

What do they sound like?

  1. A herd of African buffalo

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Featured in the following TV programmes

  • Archived

    Wild Africa: SAVANNAH

    2nd of 6 part series. The African savannahs support huge numbers of grazers and predators.

About the African buffalo

The African Buffalo, Affalo or Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large African bovid. It is up to 1.7 metres high, 3.4 metres long. Savannah type buffaloes weigh 500–900 kg, with only males, normally larger than females, reaching the upper weight range. Forest type buffaloes are only half that size. The African Buffalo is not closely related to the slightly larger Wild Asian Water Buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear. Owing to its unpredictable nature which makes it highly dangerous to humans, it has not been domesticated, unlike its Asian counterpart, the Domestic Asian Water Buffalo.

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Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animal (animalia)

Phylum: Chordate (Chordata)

Class: Mammal (Mammalia)

Order: Even-toed ungulate (Artiodactyla)

Family: Bovid (Bovidae)

Genus: Syncerus

Species: African Buffalo (caffer)

Common Names

  • Buffalo
  • Cape buffalo

Where can I see them?

Map showing the distribution of the African buffalo species

Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder

Conservation Status

The African buffalo is Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)

  1. EX - Extinct
  2. EW
  3. CR - Threatened
  4. EN - Threatened
  5. VU - Threatened
  6. NT
  7. LC - Least concern

Population trend: Decreasing

Year assessed: 2008

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