Congo buffalo
The Congo buffalo also known as the African forest buffalo or dwarf buffalo is the smallest subspecies of the African buffalo reaching between 70 to 86 in. (1.8 to 2.2 m) length and weighing between 660 and 1,650 lb. (300 to 750 kg). It is related to the Cape buffalo, the Sudan buffalo and the Nile buffalo. However, it is the only subspecies that occurs mainly in the rainforests of central and western Africa where the annual rainfall is around 59 in. (1,500 mm). Their home ranges are not just forests and typically include a combination of marshes, grassy savannas and the wet African rainforests. Savannas are the area where the buffalo graze, while the marshes serve as wallows and help with the insects. Congo buffalo are very rarely observed in thick, unbroken forest, instead they spend most of their time in forest clearings or savannas, grazing on grasses, plants and sedges. They can ingest up to 37.5 lb. (17 kg) of food a day. From March until August the buffalo spend most of its time in its forest environment, while from September through February, they favour the savannas and marshes.
Typically reddish brown or dark mahogany, with coarse bristly hairs, male buffalos are bigger than females. Both grow backwards sweeping horns though those of the male are larger and thicker. They have big, drooping fringed ears and excellent hearing which alerts them to any potential dangers in the wild. They arrange themselves into herds, some as small as 3 but rarely over 30, which help in defence against predators of which the leopard is the most common. Leopards are generally only a threat to young buffaloes and will feast on them when they have the opportunity. The crocodile is the only predator which is capable of killing an adult buffalo. A herd typically consists of one or occasionally two bulls and a harem of adult females, juveniles and young calves, which usually remain together in the same herd for their entire lives. A single calf is born at the end of the dry season after a pregnancy of around eleven month. Their life expectance is 25 years in the wild and 30 years in captivity.
Numbers of the Congo buffalo are beleived to be in decline across their range due to deforestation and and the hunting of them for bushmeat. Around 75% of the total population is found in National Parks and protected areas.
Congo buffalo
The Congo buffalo also known as the African forest buffalo or dwarf buffalo is the smallest subspecies of the African buffalo reaching between 70 to 86 in. (1.8 to 2.2 m) length and weighing between 660 and 1,650 lb. (300 to 750 kg). It is related to the Cape buffalo, the Sudan buffalo and the Nile buffalo. However, it is the only subspecies that occurs mainly in the rainforests of central and western Africa where the annual rainfall is around 59 in. (1,500 mm). Their home ranges are not just forests and typically include a combination of marshes, grassy savannas and the wet African rainforests. Savannas are the area where the buffalo graze, while the marshes serve as wallows and help with the insects. Congo buffalo are very rarely observed in thick, unbroken forest, instead they spend most of their time in forest clearings or savannas, grazing on grasses, plants and sedges. They can ingest up to 37.5 lb. (17 kg) of food a day. From March until August the buffalo spend most of its time in its forest environment, while from September through February, they favour the savannas and marshes.
Typically reddish brown or dark mahogany, with coarse bristly hairs, male buffalos are bigger than females. Both grow backwards sweeping horns though those of the male are larger and thicker. They have big, drooping fringed ears and excellent hearing which alerts them to any potential dangers in the wild. They arrange themselves into herds, some as small as 3 but rarely over 30, which help in defence against predators of which the leopard is the most common. Leopards are generally only a threat to young buffaloes and will feast on them when they have the opportunity. The crocodile is the only predator which is capable of killing an adult buffalo. A herd typically consists of one or occasionally two bulls and a harem of adult females, juveniles and young calves, which usually remain together in the same herd for their entire lives. A single calf is born at the end of the dry season after a pregnancy of around eleven month. Their life expectance is 25 years in the wild and 30 years in captivity.
Numbers of the Congo buffalo are beleived to be in decline across their range due to deforestation and and the hunting of them for bushmeat. Around 75% of the total population is found in National Parks and protected areas.