African Forest Buffalo - Ecology

Ecology

African forest buffalo live in the rainforests of Western and Central Africa; however, their home ranges typically consist of a combination of marshes, grassy savannas, and the wet African rainforests. Savannas are the area where the buffalo graze, while the marshes serve as wallows and help with the insects. Forest buffalo are very rarely observed in the unbroken canopy of the forests. They instead spend most of their time in clearings, grazing on grasses and sedges. Consequently, their diet is primarily made up of grasses and other plants that grow in clearings and savannas.

The mixture of habitats is essential for the forest buffalo. Expansion and encroachment of the rainforest on the surrounding savannas and openings is a major difficulty of maintaining the ecosystem. Forest buffalo enjoy old logging roads and tracks, where the forest is thinner and grass and other foods can grow. In these areas forest buffalo depend on the grass that is able to develop as a result of the areas that have been previously clear-cut. In some areas park management staff burn off the savannas on a regular basis to keep the rainforest from growing onto the savannas and changing the ecosystem of the area.

Large home ranges can be associated with less-productive habitats; however, a larger area of open grassland has been observed to have a positive relationship with herd size. Home ranges remain remarkably constant and stable year after year. The only documentation of the actual home range boundaries of these animals is relatively recent, so time can only tell how these boundaries remain over large lengths of time; however, studies have shown almost no movement in range boundaries from one year to the next.

Although the area included in a home range is relatively constant over time, the preferences in regards to what part of the range is most used shifts with the seasons. From March until August forest buffalo will spend most of their time in the forest, while from September through February they will favor the savannas and marshes.

African forest buffalo tend to use resting places based on sand during the wet season; however, they like to use dirt and leaves during the dry season.

African forest buffalo arrange themselves into herds, which help in defense against predators; however, they are not immune to assault. Leopards will feast on juvenile forest buffalo when they have the opportunity.