African buffalo
Syncerus caffer (Sparrman, 1779)
The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), also called the Cape buffalo or Savanna buffalo, is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae and tribe Bovini, within the order Artiodactyla. It is a giant terrestrial herbivore with an adult body mass of 580 kg and up to 646.3 kg, and it is nocturnal.
Quick facts about the African buffalo
Gestation lasts 333.4 days (up to 341 days), with 1.08 young per litter and 0.4 litters per year, and sexual maturity is reached at 4.3 years. The IUCN Red List assesses the African buffalo globally as Near Threatened, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 580 kg – 646.3 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 29.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 29.8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forest, grassland, shrubland, wetland, woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 333 days – 341 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.08src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 4.04 years – 4.58 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.4src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Live birthsrc for Reproduction
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the African buffalo
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the African buffalo live?
Not recorded
What is the African buffalo?
The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large bovine native to sub-Saharan Africa. First described in 1779 by Anders Sparrman, it is the only extant species of the genus Syncerus. Four subspecies are currently recognized: the Cape buffalo, West African savanna buffalo, Central African savanna buffalo, and African forest buffalo. It is a heavily built animal with a broad head and torso, a strong neck, large horns, and a bony armor or "boss" across the forehead of males. The fur ranges in color from rusty to black, and the tail ends with a dark, tuft of hair.
The African buffalo occurs in a variety of habitats, such as woodlands, savannas, forests, grasslands, shrublands, and wetlands. It is a ruminant and a grazer, primarily feeding on grass and dietary fiber. A social animal, the African buffalo forms herds ranging in size from a few individuals to over a thousand members. Herds typically consist of adult females and their young, and a number of adult males that temporarily join herds for mating opportunities. Males have a pecking order where dominant individuals hold the best access to mates. After a gestation of more than 10 months, females give birth to a single calf. Weaning occurs between 10 and 18 months, and the lifespan is about 12 years in the wild. Adult African buffaloes have few natural predators because of their size and aggression, though calves are much more vulnerable.
Since the 19th century, the African buffalo's range has greatly reduced due to human factors such as poaching, climate change, agriculture, and disease outbreaks. Despite this trend, conservation efforts have managed to increase populations in some parts of its range. As of 2019, it is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, with an estimated population of 398,000 to 401,000 mature individuals. A Big Five game animal, the African buffalo is legally hunted as a trophy in 16 out of 37 range countries. It has co-existed alongside humans for thousands of years and has in many ways contributed to human culture worldwide.
From the Wikipedia article “African buffalo” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_buffalo&oldid=1385027610), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the African buffalo endangered?
The African buffalo is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the African buffalo classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusSyncerus
- SpeciesSyncerus caffer (Sparrman, 1779)
Synonyms Bos caffer, Syncerus caffer caffer
Other names and names in other languages (80)
- BuffaloEnglish
- BuffaloesEnglish
- Cape buffaloEnglish
- Mountain buffaloEnglish
- Savanna buffaloEnglish
- Savannah buffaloEnglish
- Virunga buffaloEnglish
- BuffelAfrikaans
- Afrika-buffelAfrikaans
- Kaap-buffelAfrikaans
- Kaapse BuffelAfrikaans
- EkoAkan
- جاموس الرأسArabic
- جاموس أفريقيArabic
- búfalu africanuAsturian
- SigiBambara
- Буйвал афрыканскіBelarusian
- Кафърски биволBulgarian
- Bual AfrikaBreton
- Búfal africàCatalan
- Buvol africkýCzech
- Afrikansk bøffelDanish
- Yɔnahudag
- Afrikanischer BüffelGerman
- KaffernbüffelGerman
- Anyaar ApirïkaDinka
- Αφρικανικός ΒούβαλοςGreek
- sìiMandingo
- Bífalo cafreSpanish
- Bífalo africanoSpanish
- Búfalo AfricanoSpanish
- Aafrika pühvelEstonian
- Afrikar bufaloBasque
- ToEwe
- AfrikanpuhveliFinnish
- Buffle d'AfriqueFrench
- Buffle noir des SavanesFrench
- ƁaunaHausa
- תאו אפריקניHebrew
- ozonyatiHerero
- otjimburuHerero
- kafferbivalyHungarian
- Kerbau afrikaIndonesian
- Bufalo neroItalian
- Bufalo africanoItalian
- アフリカスイギュウJapanese
- ZatTyap
- MbogoKikuyu
- Африкалық бизонKazakh
- 검은물소Korean
- 아프리카들소Korean
- 아프리카물소Korean
- 아프리카버팔로Korean
- 케이프물소Korean
- Mpakasalch
- NzaleLingala
- Afrikinis buivolasLithuanian
- Āfrikas bifelisLatvian
- ပြေၚ်mnw
- Qu'arahoNama
- AfrikabøffelNorwegian Bokmål
- KafferbuffelDutch
- Afrikaanse buffelDutch
- njatiNyanja
- Bawół afrykańskiPolish
- Búfalo-africanoPortuguese
- Bivol africanRomanian
- Африканский буйволRussian
- unyatisbs
- kafrski bivolSlovenian
- Bualli afrikanAlbanian
- Afrikansk buffelSwedish
- NyatiSwahili
- ควายแอฟริกาThai
- NariTswana
- NaariTswana
- NareTswana
- Буйвіл африканськийUkrainian
- nYathiXhosa
- 非洲水牛Chinese
Relatives of the African buffalo
Other species in the same genus Syncerus.
CompareAfrican buffalo vs Forest buffaloAfrican buffalo vs Lake Chad buffaloAfrican buffalo vs Virunga buffalo
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is the African buffalo?
The African buffalo has an adult body mass of 580 kg, with the highest value reported by our sources at 646.3 kg. It falls in the giant size class.
What does the African buffalo eat?
The African buffalo is a herbivore.
Is the African buffalo endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Near Threatened (NT), which is not a threatened category.
How long does the African buffalo live?
The African buffalo has a lifespan of 29.5 years, and up to 29.8 years.
What kind of animal is the African buffalo?
The African buffalo is a mammal in the family Bovidae and order Artiodactyla.
How many young does the African buffalo have?
The African buffalo has 1.08 young per litter and 0.4 litters per year, after a gestation period of 333.4 days.
Who named the African buffalo?
The African buffalo, Syncerus caffer, was named by Sparrman in 1779, written as (Sparrman, 1779).
Is the African buffalo nocturnal?
Yes. The African buffalo is nocturnal and terrestrial.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-buffalo
“African buffalo (Syncerus caffer).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-buffalo.
@misc{african_buffalo_2026,
title = {African buffalo (Syncerus caffer)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-buffalo},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}