Cape Buffalo

The Ngorongoro Crater holds a permanent buffalo population that grazes alongside rhino, elephant and lion, often within a few metres of the main game drive tracks. The Serengeti and Tarangire also host very strong herds. Legend Expeditions includes all three on our northern circuit safaris.

Buffalo are responsible for more human fatalities in Africa than any other large mammal except hippos. The danger comes almost entirely from solitary old bulls or wounded animals, not from undisturbed herds in a national park. Inside a safari vehicle with an experienced Legend Expeditions guide, you are completely safe.

A dagga boy is an old male buffalo, usually past breeding age, that has left the main herd to live alone or with a few other elderly bulls. The name comes from the Zulu word for mud, because they spend much of the day wallowing. They are the most unpredictable and aggressive buffalo you will encounter.

They are completely separate species. The Cape buffalo of Africa is wild, unrelated to domestic cattle, and has never been successfully tamed. The water buffalo of Asia is a domesticated dairy and draught animal. Despite the similar name, the two are not closely related.

In Tanzania, herds of 500 to 1,000 animals are common during the dry season, and historical congregations in the western Serengeti and Katavi regions have been recorded at over 2,000. The largest herds gather at water during the dry months from June to October. Our guides know the current herd locations on the ground.

Although large herds still exist in well protected parks, buffalo across Africa have declined sharply due to habitat loss, livestock disease transmission and poaching for bushmeat. The IUCN reclassified the species from Least Concern to Near Threatened in 2019. Tanzania remains one of the species' strongest global strongholds.