AFRICAN CAPE BUFFALO





SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

COMMON NAME:

African cape buffalo, cape buffalo, savanna buffalo

KINGDOM:

Animalia

PHYLUM:

Chordata

CLASS:

Mammalia

ORDER:

Artiodactyla

FAMILY:

Bovidae

GENUS SPECIES:

Syncerus (together horns) caffer


FAST FACTS

DESCRIPTION:

The cape buffalo is a large, dark brown to black hoofed mammal with drooping fringed ears and large curved horns.

SIZE:

About 1.0-1.7 m (3.3-5.6 ft.) tall at shoulder; 2.1-3.4 m (7-11 ft.) in length

FEMALE

Females are smaller than males

WEIGHT:

Approximately 425-900 kg (935-2000 lb.)

DIET:

Herbivore - eats tall, coarse grasses

GESTATION:

Gestation lasts approximately 11.5 months; usually a single calf is born

SEXUAL MATURITY:

Between 3.5-5 years

LIFE SPAN:

15-25 years

RANGE:

Eastern and southern Africa. The forest buffalo, a smaller subspecies, is found in the forests of central Africa.

HABITAT:

Open savannas and grasslands near a permanent source of water

POPULATION:

GLOBAL

Unknown

STATUS:

IUCN

Lower Risk/Conservation Dependent

CITES

Not listed

USFWS

Not listed



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