Are buffalo dangerous?

Treated with respect from a vehicle, a herd is calm. Old solitary bulls in thick bush are the ones with the reputation, and walking safaris give them a wide berth. Never approach buffalo on foot outside a guided walk, and follow your guide without argument if one is encountered.

What is the conservation status of the Cape Buffalo?

The Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

What is the Cape Buffalo?

The African buffalo or Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild water buffalo of Asia and its ancestry remains unclear. Syncerus caffer caffer, the Cape buffalo, is the typical subspecies, and the largest one, found in South and East Africa. S. c.

Wildlife

Cape Buffalo

Q: Where are the best places to see buffalo?

Kruger and the private reserves on its western boundary, Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape, and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and the other Zululand reserves. Herds of several hundred are normal in all three.

Syncerus cafferNear threatened

The African buffalo or Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large African bovine.

from Wikipedia

Showing stays that recordCape Buffalo50+ stays list it on site or nearby

Species insights▾

When to visit

Recorded year-round

Recorded in every month, so no month is the wrong month to look. We would rather say that than invent a best time.

Best monthsAny month

Records5,363 records

Curve from 5,363 national iNaturalist observations, not from one property. Single-month spikes are discarded as upload artefacts, and below 50 records we show no curve at all.

Where you'll find it

Mpumalanga and beyond

Provinces where Cape Buffalo is most recorded. Tap one to find places to stay.

5,363 records, iNaturalist

Parks where hosts record the Cape Buffalo

Places to stay

50+ results in South Africa

Tanda Tula Safari Camp

Limpopo

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 27 birds recorded · Lion, Leopard · Guided walk, Game drives

Price on request

Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge

Hluhluwe

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 285 birds recorded · African wild dog, Spotted hyena · Game drives

Price on request

Ubuntu Lodge at Elephant Point

Hazyview

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 1 bird recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Scenic drives

Price on request

Maninghi Lodge

Hoedspruit

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 8 birds recorded · Giraffe, African elephant · Game drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

Price on request

Rhino Sands Safari Camp

Hazyview

Hutwini Walking Camp by RETURN Africa

Limpopo

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Forest biome · 16 birds recorded · Leopard, Spotted hyena · Fishing, Guided walk

Supports BirdLife South Africa

From R 11,820 per night

Plains Camp @ Rhino Walking Safaris

Mpumalanga

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 224 birds recorded · Aardvark, African elephant · Guided walk, Game drives

Supports BirdLife South Africa

Price on request

Jaci's Private Lodge

Madikwe

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 71 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Game drives, Photography

Supports Jaci's Lodge Trust

From R 31,500 per night

Laluka Safari Lodge

Vaalwater

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · Leopard, Lion · Spa, Hiking

Price on request

Mont Eco Game Reserve

Mont Eco Game Reserve, Montagu

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Succulent Karoo biome · Leopard, Lion · Guided walk, Game drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

Price on request

&Beyond Phinda Zuka Lodge

Hluhluwe

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Scenic drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 31,600 per night

&Beyond Tengile River Lodge

Bushbuckridge

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 37 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Wildlife viewing

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 93,000 per night

&Beyond Phinda Vlei Lodge

Hluhluwe

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Wildlife viewing

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 44,800 per night

&Beyond Phinda Rock Lodge

Hluhluwe

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Hiking

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 44,800 per night

&Beyond Phinda Mountain Lodge

Hluhluwe

Cape Buffalo recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Wildlife viewing

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 35,500 per night

Plan a trip around these stays

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Cape Buffalo

Buffalo are Big Five because of what they do when wounded, not because they are hard to find.

When to go, park by park

Here all yearEasiest viewing

Best months to visit each park where hosts record the Cape Buffalo
Park	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Kruger	Here	Here	Here	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Here	Here	Here
Phinda	Here	Here	Here	Here	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing

Darker months are each park's own best season, when thinner bush or scarce water makes viewing easier. A sighting is never guaranteed.

Best hours of the day

Early morning and late afternoon. The Cape Buffalo is out through the day, and easiest to watch before the heat.
Midday heat. Often resting in shade or near water.

Where to base yourself

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

Kruger Addo Elephant

Guided drives from a lodge

A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.

Where hosts record it

Phinda Gondwana Sabi Sand Welgevonden Amakhala

IUCN Red List

Near Threatened

Species

Syncerus caffer

Records

5 363

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the Cape Buffalo on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

More about the Cape Buffalo

Buffalo are Big Five because of what they do when wounded, not because they are hard to find. Herds of several hundred move through the Lowveld and the Zululand reserves as a grey mass with birds riding on them, and they need water daily, so in the dry season they are predictable: find the river or the waterhole in the late afternoon and wait.

Kruger and the private reserves on its boundary hold the largest herds, and Addo in the Eastern Cape has a well-known population in the thicket, one of the few disease-free herds in the country. Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and the Zululand reserves are the third stronghold. May to September is the season for the same reason it is for everything else: water is scarce and the animals come to it.

The animals to treat with the most care are the old bulls, the dagga boys, who leave the herd and spend their days in mud wallows and thick riverine bush, usually in twos and threes. They are the reason buffalo have the reputation they do. Pair a buffalo trip with the rest of the Big Five in the same reserve, or with the Albany Thicket story in the Eastern Cape.

When is the best time to see buffalo?

The dry winter months, May to September, when herds come to water daily and the bush is thin. Late afternoon at a waterhole or river crossing is the most reliable time of day. Buffalo are the least seasonal of the Big Five because their need for water is constant.

Where are the best places to see buffalo?