Cape buffalo calf, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

The African, or Cape, buffalo is only one species of buffalo in Africa, but two distinct subspecies exist: the large savanna buffalo and the much smaller forest buffalo. Savanna buffaloes are large, heavy cowlike animals. They vary greatly not only in size, but in the shapes of their horns and color. Adults are usually dark gray or black and the young are often reddish-brown. Adults lose hair as they age. Both male and female buffaloes have heavy, ridged horns that grow straight out from the head or curve downward and then up. The horns are formidable weapons against predators and for jostling for space within the herd; males use the horns in fights for dominance. Females have their first calves at age 4 or 5. They usually calve only once every two years. Although young may be born throughout the year, most births occur in the rainy season when abundant grass improves the nutritional level for the females when they are pregnant or nursing. The female and her offspring have an unusually intense and prolonged relationship. Calves are suckled for as long as a year and during this time are completely dependent on their mothers. Female offspring usually stay in the natal herd, but males leave when they are about 4 years old. Both savanna buffaloes and forest buffaloes live close to water. In general buffaloes are found throughout the northern and southern savanna as well as the lowland rain forest. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Broadcasting Company and traveled to Africa from June 1966 to early August 1966.