Social Spacing and Habitat
The African buffalo can be found in scattered areas around central Africa. This region stretches from the north of South Africa to the south of the Sahara Desert. They live in savannas or grasslands which are characterized by vast expanses with scattered trees and zero total canopy cover (Newell 2000). The buffalo live in a herd and are grazers that feed on grass, however in times of drought they are also known to feed on herbs, shrubs, and tree shoots. This food source is not defendable (it is predictable and widely dispersed) and therefore the buffalo live in a home range rather than a territory. The size of this home range depends on herd size and season and can range from as small as 3-4 km squared to as large as 30 km squared (Sinclair 1977). The formation of the herd within the homerange depends on the surrounding interspecific competition, soil quality, and tree canopy cover. When there are other grazing species in the vicinity, herds tend to clump up more than when there are other surrounding animals (McNaughton 1983). On average, a herd travels about 4 km a day. They spend proportionally more time feeding and grazing at night than in the day and allocate more resting time for the day due to the heat (Ryan 2005).
Photo coutesy of Dr. Kay E. Holekamp
Food availability plays a large role in the home range size and migration patterns of the buffalo. During the dry season the buffalo forage depending on the quality of grass and proximity to water sources. These include mudflat steppes, bushy steppes, and woodland savannas. All of these areas prove to be abundant in grass as well as fairly safe from predators. These areas are also close to wallows which prove essential in the buffaloes’ ability to hydrate and thermoregulate (Mungangu 1995). During this dry season the buffalo will rest less during the day and expend more energy grazing so that they can obtain sufficient nutrition (Beekman 1989). During the wet season the buffalo graze in the mudflat steppes and upland steppes more often than in the bushy steppes or woodland savannahs. This is due to better mineral composition of the grass in these areas. Although this area is rich in nutrition, it is also the most dangerous for the buffalo and studies show that more buffalo die in the upland steppes than anywhere else. Therefore predation proves to not be a factor in the habitat choice or migration patterns for the buffalo. One hypothesis is that the buffalo choose to remain in the upland steppes, regardless of high predation rates, in order to avoid the tsetse fly. According to research, buffalo can spend a considerable amount of energy and time twitching their tales in order to chase away flies (Mungangu 1995). Because the buffalo are so large, a substantial amount of grass is needed to sustain their health. In fact, without a food source the African buffalo loses its health faster than any other savanna ungulate in the continent and therefore food availability is the primary driving force in the buffaloes’ habitat selection (Ryan 2006).