Overview
The Dwarf forest buffalo is the smallest, most lightly built African buffalo. Most are reddish or light tan in color, but old bulls may be dark brown. The face is narrower and straighter than in Savanna buffalos, and the ears have a heavy fringe of hairs. The small horns are set apart without frontal bosses and curve outward, backward and slightly upward. They do not sweep down as they do in most Savanna races, thus the ears are not hidden from view.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Syncerus
- Species
- Syncerus caffer
Habitat
Equatorial forest and intermittent grasslands. Distribution- The high coastal rain forest of West Africa, which includes the southwestern edge of Guinea; all of Sierra Leone except the northeast; all of Liberia; southern Ivory Coast; southwestern Ghana; and the southern tip of Nigeria. Also in the high rain forest of Central Africa, which includes southern Cameroon, the far southwestern part of the Central African Republic; all of Rio Muni, Gabon, and Congo (B); far northwestern Angola; and Congo (K) except the northern edge and Katanga Province.
Diet
Prefer to graze but will browse when necessary.
Behavior
Compared to the more well-known Cape buffalo, this species tends to remain in smaller herds of 5-20 individuals.
Hunting
Hunts tend to take place in thick forest cover, and shots can be less than 25 yards due to the habitat these animals thrive in.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN, although this refers to the overall species, and subspecies population trends are less clearly understood.