---
title: "African Buffalo"
description: "Syncerus caffer — Mammals. The African buffalo is a large species of true buffalo native to Sub-Saharan Africa, where it is found in a number of disconnected ranges stretching from south-eastern Senegal through West and Central Africa to South Africa."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/african-buffalo
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# African Buffalo

> Syncerus caffer — Mammals. The African buffalo is a large species of true buffalo native to Sub-Saharan Africa, where it is found in a number of disconnected ranges stretching from south-eastern Senegal through West and Central Africa to South Africa.

- Scientific name: *Syncerus caffer*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Fields & meadows), `savanna` (Savanna)
- iNaturalist observations: 15770
- Wikidata: [Q160042](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q160042)
- iNaturalist taxon: [42405](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42405)

## Names

- en: African Buffalo
- de: Afrikanischer Büffel
- es: Búfalo Africano
- fr: Buffle d'Afrique
- nl: Kafferbuffel
- pt: Búfalo-africano
- pl: Bawół afrykański

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (5630), KE (2632), TZ (1994), UG (933), BW (914), BJ (685), NA (308), ZW (296), GA (250), ZM (233), CF (148), MW (137)

## Summary

The African buffalo is a large species of true buffalo native to Sub-Saharan Africa, where it is found in a number of disconnected ranges stretching from south-eastern Senegal through West and Central Africa to South Africa. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases that form a continuous bone shield, referred to as a "boss", across the top of the head. The African buffalo is more closely related to Asian buffalo (Bubalus) species than it is to other bovids such as American bison or domestic cattle. Its unpredictable temperament may be part of…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_buffalo

## Photo

![African Buffalo](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/african-buffalo/medium.jpg)

Photo: Simon Tonge · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/8838319

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/african-buffalo?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).