Buffalo
All rights reserved.
No publication without written permission of the photographer.
Location: Botswana
Photographer: © Pia Dierickx
The African buffalo is an extremely large animal. The length from the head to the back ranges from 2,1 m to 3 m, tail length ranges from 75 cm to 1,1 m and the shoulder height ranges from 1 m to 1,7 meter.
African buffalos have large heads and limbs along with a broad chest. The ears on these buffalos are large and droopy. The horns of the African buffalo 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.
African buffalo are highly sociable animals that travel in large, non territorial herds. The herds are composed of related cows, which are arranged in a linear dominance hierarchy. Estes, 1991.)
Herds include females and their young from the past two birthing seasons. During the dry season, the males form what are known as bachelor groups, which contain 3-4 males. Within the bachelor groups, there is a dominance hierarchy. Members of the group fight each other, usually over an estrous 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 per hour. (Nowak, 1983.)
They are herbivorous and are grazing animals. In the dry season, the pastures diminish and the buffalos 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. (Mloszewski, 1983-Estes, 1991.)(http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html)
No publication without written permission of the photographer.
Location: Botswana
Photographer: © Pia Dierickx
The African buffalo is an extremely large animal. The length from the head to the back ranges from 2,1 m to 3 m, tail length ranges from 75 cm to 1,1 m and the shoulder height ranges from 1 m to 1,7 meter.
African buffalos have large heads and limbs along with a broad chest. The ears on these buffalos are large and droopy. The horns of the African buffalo 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.
African buffalo are highly sociable animals that travel in large, non territorial herds. The herds are composed of related cows, which are arranged in a linear dominance hierarchy. Estes, 1991.)
Herds include females and their young from the past two birthing seasons. During the dry season, the males form what are known as bachelor groups, which contain 3-4 males. Within the bachelor groups, there is a dominance hierarchy. Members of the group fight each other, usually over an estrous 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 per hour. (Nowak, 1983.)
They are herbivorous and are grazing animals. In the dry season, the pastures diminish and the buffalos 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. (Mloszewski, 1983-Estes, 1991.)(http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html)