Forest Buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) Fact Sheet: Physical Characteristics

Body measurements

Data source: Wilson and Mittermeier (2011)

Also see Life Stages.

Wilson and Mittermeier (2011)

• Distinctly smaller than the other three African buffalo subspecies
• Cattle-like appearance, but less massive
• Dark markings on limbs
• Horns shorter than other subspecies; curve upwards
• Large, prominent ears
• Wide mouth
• Bare, moist nose
• Tuft on tail

• Coloration includes various shades of black, brown, red, and yellow
• Underside and chin are often pale.
• Herds often contain individuals of different coloration.
• Color tends to darken with age, and females do not attain the same degree of blackness as males.
• Darker color is thought to be more conspicuous than lighter color, and cryptic coloration in a large, social species may be of little value.
• Forest buffalo are typically lighter (red-brown to brown) than Cape buffalo, though forest buffalo males are sometimes black.
• Pelage of juveniles is thicker than that of adults; dark brown hide shows through on old bulls.
• Forest buffalo usually have a short dorsal mane.

• African buffalo and Asian water buffalo have horns that are triangular-shaped in cross-section (as opposed to round-shaped in cattle and bison). In the African buffalo's skull, the vomer and palatine bones remain separate, while in the water buffalo they are fused.
• Stout legs to support its ox-like body. Front hooves are larger than the rear hooves, which reflects the weight it carries in its massive head, horns, and neck. Broad hooves, well-developed false hooves, and lack of an interdigital cleft are advantageous on wet ground.
• Capable of running at speeds up to 48-56 km/hour, enough to outrun lions, but not adapted to running far.
• Skin may be >1 cm thick.
• Females have two pairs of inguinal mammae.
• No scent glands.
• Loss of body water through evaporation can be reduced by allowing the body temperature to gradually rise through the day; the "stored heat" is then lost at night.
• Stiff, relatively-immobile lips prevents it from feeding selectively on short grass as do smaller herbivores, but a wide incisor row, along with use of the tongue, allow it to pluck whole bundles of grass and thus consume more quickly.
• Dental formula is: incisors, 0/3; canines, 0/1; premolars, 3/3; molars, 3/3; total, 32.
• Olfaction is good; hearing and particularly vision are less acute, suggestive of its recent forest origins.

Forest buffalo have a cattle-like appearance, but are smaller than the other three African subspecies.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

Delany & Happold (1979)
Estes (1991)
Haltenorth & Diller (1980)
Happold (1987)
Hofmann (1973)
Kingdon (1982, 1997)
Mloszewski (1983)
Pienaar (1969)
Schaller (1972)
Sinclair (1977)
Smithers (1983)