Field notes on the African Buffalo 'Inyathi' ... disease free strain of buffalo
Where are the Buffalo?
You are unlikely to see at Addo during the day. In the past, buffalo's were hunted by local farmers, so they became nocturnal. Look out for the hoof-prints on the road instead-evidence that they are round, somewhere.
The front hooves are larger than the hind ones, to cope with the extra weight in their huge head and neck.
See them at night
Spend a while by the rest-camp waterhole at night and you might be lucky. Or take a guided night drive into the park.
Family Life
Although buffalo can be seen in herds of thousands on the open grasslands, living in the dense bush at Addo has forced them to change their social structure.
Calves are born when the parks receives most of its rainfall, which is twice a year, in February to March and August to September.
How big is a buffalo?
A bull could weigh up to 800kg, that is about as much as ten people!
They use their massive horns to sort out an order of importance (a hierarchy).
Culture and beliefs
Zulu praise-singers hail the buffalo as the wild ox which defied taming by generations of kings. It is hailed as the mighty one, the defiant one, who does not shrink or tremble, even when lightning strikes the land.
Buffalo are very important
Flightless dung beetles eat buffalo dung and the female beetle seems to prefer using buffalo dung when constructing her brood ball.
Buffalo will eat even old vegetation, but their feeding and trampling encourages new growth, which will be more suitable for other animals.
What do they eat?
Cape buffalo are normally grazers (eat grass) but, being forced into the Addo bush by hunting, these buffalo have had to adapt to eat mostly leaves.
A success story
The buffalo at Addo breed so well that animals are sometimes captured to be sent to other parks. The Addo buffalo are ideal for restocking because, unlike other buffalo populations in Africa, they have remained free from foot and mouth disease and corridor disease.
Did you know...? Buffalo are very inquisitive.
The mission of the Addo Elephant National Park is to conserve the faunal and floral assemblages and ecological processes that characterise the unique Eastern Cape region, and to actively present this for the appreciation by visitors.
click
link below for larger mage
http://www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/images/maps/addomap2.jpg to see map of Addo Elephant National Park
