African Buffalo

[Amoli]

And the hooves are striking too!!

Okey, so lets chat about hooves and spoor...

Buffalo spoor is relatively easy to identify, the front spoor being larger than the hind spoor. I would have thought differently
Other game species that have “similar” spoor to buffalo are giraffe and eland - and I thought cattle too.





The little toes at the back will only leave a spoor when the ground is soft...




I have not taken pics of a lot of animal droppings, and would surely not be able to identify any of them thereby (except for ellies -O -O )
I had to borrow a picture from the internet....



Buffalo has enough stamina to outrun a horse and can easily run 55+ km per hour .


We don't generally eat buff meat but overseas they do - Interesting reading material

BUFFALO (the American Bison) has often been called the "original health food".

Buffalo meat is significantly higher in protein, yet lower in fat, cholesterol and calories than most other meats, including poultry and many kinds of fish. Just take a peek at the chart to see how buffalo compares with other meats in cholesterol content! CHOLESTEROL CONTENT COMPARISON:

BUFFALO
Round roast/steak ..................... 40

RED MEATS (lean only)
Beef ........................................ 77
Lamb ....................................... 78
Pork ........................................ 79
Veal ........................................ 128
Venison ..................................... 70
POULTRY
Chicken, skinless light meat ......... 72
Chicken, skinless dark meat ......... 79
Turkey, skinless light meat .......... 59
Turkey, skinless dark meat .......... 72
FISH
Salmon, broiled no fat added ......... 74
Tuna, light, canned in water ......... 55
Cod, broiled, no fat added ............ 50
SHELLFISH
Abalone ................................. 90
Alaskan King crabmeat ................ 45
Blue crab meat .......................... 85
Lobster .................................. 6I
Oysters ................................... 93
Scallops ................................... 35
Shrimp ................................... 166

No one, to date, has had an allergic reaction to buffalo meat. We're not sure why, but suspect it is because buffalo are not subjected to chemicals, drugs and hormones. Nor are they force-fed in high density pens.

Adapted from a report of the National Cholesterol Education Program expert panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of HIgh Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Arch lnter Med 1988 (Jan): 36-69).



Interesting ne !

[Mel]

Very interesting read! Thanks for starting it, Amoli.

And thanks to each and every one for their great contribution - in words or in pics!

[Flutterby]

Very interesting Amoli...thanks!!

[Amoli]

Herewith the pics of the skull at Mlondozi Picnic spot... as first introduced to us by Leachy...

[Amoli]

My dad always used to say : look to nature for answers....

I don't think he meant female buffalo.... -O who actually give direction....
yet there are other things I can learn...

African buffaloes are notable for their apparent altruism.
Females appear to exhibit some sort of "voting behavior".
During resting time, the females will stand up, shuffle around, and sit back down again.
They will sit in the direction they think they should move.
After an hour of more shuffling, the females will travel in the direction they decide.
This decision is communal and not based on hierarchy or dominance

extract from Wikipedia

[Amoli]

Buffaloes move in large herds through their home range on a seasonal cyclic route.
Their grazing and trampling favouring rapid plant regrowth.
Deciding which pastures to visit requires that the expert panel of cows arrives at a multi-factorial decision.
They have to consider not only where the most suitable grass is, but also whether they have fed there recently and how long the grass will take to recover, and to avoid grass patches depleted by competing herbivores.
It has been found that Buffaloes have never overgrazed any land.

There is an opionion that, though buffaloes increase rapidly under good conditions, their numbers are kept in check through density-dependent factors.
They will not increase in numbers if there is not enough food or water for them.
The opinion also mentions the culling from late ‘60’s to early ‘90’s reduced the potential for future scientific studies and may have pre-empted natural selection processes that shape buffalo characteristics.
It is apparent that there is an overwhelming natural order at work, which functions best without interference.

- Extract from : Shaping Kruger – Mitch Reardon

[H. erectus]

Very interesting read this Amoli!!! They are un-like cattle in other words.
Just hope this kind of research will continue in the future.

[Flutterby]

Tx Amoli!

[Penga Ndlovu]

Great stuff Iloma.

[Amoli]

On a day trip from Phala to Orpen, we came across this herd being harrassed by lionesses.
Some of my pics should be under the Best Blurry pics... -O
What was amazing was how the older buffs kept the lioness away from the young and what seemed to be a hurt buff.

These lionesses were tired...and taking a break. They eventually moved off.



This lioness wouldn't give up, and was disgusted with her friends leaving..



Young ones had to be pushed back behind the lines of attack



and it seems there was one done here, being protected by the herd..



The buffs got the upper hand and starting forming a retrieving line for lioness, driving her away from the herd.







Happy ending for the buffs....