A buffalo bull at Tsavo National Park.
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Reaching a height of 165cm (65”) at the shoulder and weighing in at 680kg (1500lbs), it is no wonder that the enormous Cape buffalo is one of Africa’s “Big Five”. Though they are herbivores, feeding almost exclusively on grass, buffalos are known to be one of the most dangerous species in Uganda thanks to their unpredictable and defensive nature.
They will happily trample a lion who threatens to attack! Visitors to Uganda needn’t worry about getting caught in a stampede however; the buffaloes’ poor ability to regulate body temperature means that throughout the hot equatorial days they are most commonly found wallowing in mud or water – making them easy to view at close range during a launch trip.
Two subspecies of buffalo exist in Uganda – the larger savannah buffalo and the smaller forest buffalo. They live in two types of groups – family herds, which contain mainly females and calves; and bachelor herds. A herd can contain several hundred individuals.
