Download assessment

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™
ISSN 2307-8235 (online)
IUCN 2008: T21251A9260904
Syncerus caffer, African Buffalo
Assessment by: IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group
View on www.iucnredlist.org
Citation: IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group. 2008. Syncerus caffer. The IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species 2008: e.T21251A9260904.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21251A9260904.en
Copyright: © 2015 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written
permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged.
Reproduction of this publication for resale, reposting or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written
permission from the copyright holder. For further details see Terms of Use.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species Programme, the IUCN
Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN Red List Partners are: BirdLife
International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.
If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown in this document, please provide us with
feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided.
THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Cetartiodactyla
Bovidae
Taxon Name: Syncerus caffer (Sparrman, 1779)
Common Name(s):
• English:
African Buffalo
Taxonomic Notes:
Three or four subspecies are usually distinguished: Forest Buffalo (S. c. nanus); West African Savanna
Buffalo (S. c. brachyceros); Central African Savanna Buffalo (S. c. aequinoctialis); and Southern Savanna
Buffalo (S. c. caffer)
The interrelationships are unclear between the various described subspecies of the African Buffalo, but
there is little doubt about the validity of the four subspecies recognized here. The three forms of the
savanna buffalo are at least as distinct from one another as from nanus. These subspecies should clearly
be distinguished for purposes such as trophy classification and assessment of conservation status. Other
subspecies such as the "mountain" buffalo (mathewsi) of eastern Africa may also be valid. lntergrades
occur where the distributions of the subspecies meet, including the boundaries between nanus and the
savanna subspecies.
Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:
Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:
2008
Date Assessed:
June 30, 2008
Justification:
Listed as Least Concern as the species remains widespread, with a global population estimated at nearly
900000 animals, of which more than three-quarters are in protected areas. While some populations
(subspecies) are decreasing, others will remain unchanged in the long term if large, healthy populations
continue to persist in a substantial number of national parks, equivalent reserves and hunting zones in
southern and eastern Africa.
Previously Published Red List Assessments
1996 – Lower Risk/conservation dependent (LR/cd)
Geographic Range
Range Description:
The species is distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but is now generally confined to protected
areas, within which it is well represented, and other areas which are sparsely settled. In West Africa,
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Syncerus caffer – published in 2008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21251A9260904.en
1
they are now extinct in The Gambia, probably occur only as vagrants in Guinea, and the population in
Mali’s Bafing Faunal Reserve is probably the country’s last (East 1999; Prins and Sinclair in press). African
Buffalo are also extinct in Eritrea (East 1999). In South Africa, they have been reintroduced to areas from
which they were formerly extirpated; likewise, they were reintroduced in Swaziland, where the
indigenous population was extirpated.
African Buffalo were probably extirpated from Bioko Island sometime between 1860 and 1910 (Butynski
et al. 1997).
Country Occurrence:
Native: Angola (Angola); Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic;
Chad; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; Ethiopia; Gabon;
Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria;
Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania, United Republic
of; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Regionally extinct: Eritrea; Gambia
Reintroduced: Swaziland
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Syncerus caffer – published in 2008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21251A9260904.en
2
Distribution Map
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Syncerus caffer – published in 2008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21251A9260904.en
3
Population
East (1999) produced a total population estimate of 830,000 for the three subspecies of savanna buffalo
(27,000 West African Savanna Buffalo, 133,000 Central African Savanna Buffalo and 670,000 Southern
Savanna Buffalo), probably conservative. East (1999) thought it likely that the total number of buffalo
remaining in Africa’s savannas is in the approximate range of 500,000-1,000,000. Savanna buffalo
populations are in decline over extensive areas because of meat hunting and continuing toss of habitat,
and rinderpest continues to pose a major threat to these subspecies in some regions of Africa.
Few population estimates are available for the forest buffalo. It tends to occur locally at relatively high
densities in open, grassy areas within the equatorial forest, but at much lower densities in extensive
areas of continuous forest. East (1999) produced a total population estimate for the forest buffalo of
about 60,000. This estimate is probably very conservative, but forest buffalo populations are in decline
over most of the subspecies’ remaining range.
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)
African Buffalo inhabit a wide range of habitats, including semi-arid bushland, Acacia woodland,
miombo Brachystegia woodland, montane grasslands and forest (to elevations well over 4,000 m asl),
coastal savannas, and moist lowland rainforests. They are absent only from deserts and subdeserts, such
as the Namib and the Saharan/Sahelian transition zone (Prins and Sinclair in press).
Systems: Terrestrial
Threats (see Appendix for additional information)
In the past, numbers of African Buffalo suffered their most severe collapse during the great rinderpest
epidemic of the 1890s, which, coupled with pleuro-pneumonia, caused mortalities as high as 95%
among livestock and wild ungulates (Winterbach 1998). Rinderpest and other diseases such as anthrax
have continued to result in localized declines and extinctions of populations throughout the 20th
century, as rinderpest has spread from cattle to wildlife.
The species’ distribution and numbers have also been greatly reduced by habitat loss and poaching. It is
a favourite target of meat hunters in many countries, and poaching has been a major contributor to the
recent decline of buffalo populations in many protected areas, e.g., national parks such as Comoe (Ivory
Coast), Garamba (Congo-Kinshasa) and Serengeti (Tanzania), and probably in many other areas. It is also
susceptible to drought, which has caused substantial declines in some populations during the 1990s,
alone or in combination with diseases such as anthrax or rinderpest, e.g., in Tsavo, Serengeti/Mara,
Gonarezhou and Kruger (East 1999).
Conservation Actions (see Appendix for additional information)
About 70% of the population of the three savanna buffalo subspecies occurs in and around protected
areas, including: Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks (Uganda), Tarangire, MoyowosiKigosi, Katavi-Rukwa and Selous-Kilombero (Tanzania), Kafue and North and South Luangwa National
Parks (Zambia), Chobe (Botswana), Sebungwe and the Middle Zambezi Valley (Zimbabwe), Hluhluwe-
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Syncerus caffer – published in 2008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21251A9260904.en
4
iMfolozi (South Africa) (Southern Savanna Buffalo), Mole (Ghana), Pendjari (Benin) and the national
parks and hunting zones of North Province (Cameroon) (West African Savanna Buffalo), and Zakouma
(Chad), and Sangba (CAR) (Central African Savanna Buffalo).
About 75% of the estimated total population of the forest buffalo occurs in nominally protected areas,
including Lobeke (Cameroon) - Dzanga-Sangha (CAR) - Nouabale-Ndoki-Kabo (Congo-Brazzaville), Lope,
Wonga-Wongue and Gamba (Gabon), Odzala (Congo-Brazzaville) and Maiko (Congo-Kinshasa).
The future status of this species is closely linked to the future of protected areas and well-managed
hunting zones, since it is a frequent target of poachers.
Credits
Assessor(s):
IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group
Reviewer(s):
Mallon, D.P. (Antelope Red List Authority) & Hoffmann, M. (Global Mammal
Assessment)
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Syncerus caffer – published in 2008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21251A9260904.en
5
Bibliography
Butynski, T. M., Schaaf, C. D. and Hearn, G. W. 1997. African buffalo Syncerus caffer extirpated on Bioko
Island, Equatorial. Journal of African Zoology 111: 57-61.
East, R. 1999. African Antelope Database 1999. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
Prins, H. H. T. and Sinclair, A. R. E. In press. Syncerus caffer. In: J. S. Kingdon and M. Hoffmann (eds), The
Mammals of Africa, Academic Press, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Winterbach, H. E. K. 1998. Research review: the status and distribution of Cape buffalo Syncerus caffer
caffer in southern Africa. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 28(3): 82-88.
Citation
IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group. 2008. Syncerus caffer. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
2008: e.T21251A9260904. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21251A9260904.en
Disclaimer
To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.
External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Syncerus caffer – published in 2008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21251A9260904.en
6
Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Habitat
Season
Suitability
Major
Importance?
1. Forest -> 1.5. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry
-
Suitable
-
1. Forest -> 1.6. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland
-
Suitable
-
2. Savanna -> 2.1. Savanna - Dry
-
Suitable
-
3. Shrubland -> 3.4. Shrubland - Temperate
-
Suitable
-
3. Shrubland -> 3.5. Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry
-
Marginal
-
3. Shrubland -> 3.6. Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Moist
-
Suitable
-
4. Grassland -> 4.5. Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry
-
Marginal
-
4. Grassland -> 4.6. Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally
Wet/Flooded
-
Suitable
-
4. Grassland -> 4.7. Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude
-
Suitable
-
5. Wetlands (inland) -> 5.4. Wetlands (inland) - Bogs, Marshes, Swamps,
Fens, Peatlands
-
Suitable
-
Use and Trade
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
End Use
Local
National
International
Food - human
Yes
Yes
No
Sport hunting/specimen collecting
No
Yes
Yes
Threats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Threat
Timing
Scope
Severity
Impact Score
1. Residential & commercial development -> 1.1.
Housing & urban areas
Ongoing
-
-
-
Stresses:
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.1. Ecosystem conversion
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation
Ongoing
-
Stresses:
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.1. Ecosystem conversion
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation
2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> 2.3. Livestock farming
& ranching -> 2.3.4. Scale Unknown/Unrecorded
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Syncerus caffer – published in 2008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21251A9260904.en
-
-
7
5. Biological resource use -> 5.1. Hunting & trapping
terrestrial animals -> 5.1.1. Intentional use (species is
the target)
6. Human intrusions & disturbance -> 6.2. War, civil
unrest & military exercises
8. Invasive & other problematic species & genes ->
8.2. Problematic native species
11. Climate change & severe weather -> 11.2.
Droughts
Ongoing
-
-
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
Ongoing
-
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.2. Species disturbance
Ongoing
-
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
Ongoing
-
Stresses:
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Conservation Actions in Place
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Conservation Actions in Place
In-Place Land/Water Protection and Management
Conservation sites identified: Yes, over entire range
Conservation Actions Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Conservation Actions Needed
2. Land/water management -> 2.1. Site/area management
Research Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Research Needed
3. Monitoring -> 3.1. Population trends
Additional Data Fields
Population
Population severely fragmented: No
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Syncerus caffer – published in 2008.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21251A9260904.en
8
The IUCN Red List Partnership
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN
Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation
International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas
A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.
THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™