Also known as the African buffalo, the Cape Buffalo is one of the most successful grazing animals in Africa. The cape buffalo can grow to 1.7 meters tall and weigh up to 900kg but it is only usually the males that reach the biggest sizes. They can live to around 18 years old and have been known to live into their 20's in captivity. The buffalo can live on tall course grasses and a herd of buffalo can reduce grasses to levels preferred by more selective grazing species. The cape buffalo have few predators, other than humans, and a very capable of defending themselves. Lions often hunt and kill the buffalo but it usually takes multiple lions to bring down an adult cape buffalo. A number of cape buffalo on the defence pose a significant threat to a predator and a herd will often try to rescue a fallen member making the animal dangerous even after a successful hunt. Other predators will attempt to take a buffalo but will usually target the calves, elderly or sick animals. Cape buffalo mate and give birth during hte rainy season with calves born early in the season and mating taking place later in the season. Newly born calves will be hidden in the undergrowth with the mother making visit to the nurse the calf until it is able to join the herd. Male calves will leave their mothers after two years and join a bachelor herd. Bulls will gaurd females that come into season and chase off any rival males, by the time the female is ready to mate only the strongest bull will be left around her to mate. Knowsley safari park has a small all female herd so we won't see any calves here anytime soon. The cape buffalo is reagarded as a very dangerous animal and is sometimes known as "the balck death" in Africa. Some reprts say that this animal is responsible for more human deaths than any other animal in Africa. Due to it's unpredictable and sometimes aggressive nature the cape buffalo has never been domesticated unlike it's relative the domestic Asian water buffalo.

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