As a guide out here at Londolozi, there are certain questions I hear again and again. Some are about the constellations above us, others about the tracks we follow on the sandy roads. But one that seems to pop up quite often is this: “Is that a water buffalo?” or, more confidently, “Oh look, a water buffalo!”

It always makes me smile, because while I completely understand the confusion, after all, they both carry the name “buffalo”, the Cape buffalo and the water buffalo are two very different animals. A few years ago, a blog was written on this very topic for Londolozi, and I encourage anyone curious to read it. But given how often the question comes up on my drives, I thought I’d add my own take.

The Cape Buffalo – Africa’s Original Heavyweight

Here in the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, and across much of sub-Saharan Africa, the buffalo we see is the African or Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer). These are the unmistakable, stocky members of the “Big Five,” known as much for their unpredictable tempers as for their impressive horns.

• Size & Build: Cape buffalo bulls can weigh up to 900 kilograms (almost a metric tonne), while cows average around 600 kilograms. They are shorter, stockier, and more powerfully built than water buffalo, with a noticeably more rugged, muscular frame.

• Horns: Their most distinctive feature is the sweeping horns that curve down and then back up, fusing in the middle across the forehead to form a “boss.” This thickened shield of keratin is a form of armour, vital in dominance battles between bulls.

• Social Structure: They live in large, mixed herds often numbering in the hundreds. Solitary, older bulls who leave the herd are also a common sight, usually wallowing in mud to keep cool and free of parasites.

• Temperament: Cape buffalo are famously unpredictable. Their reputation as one of the most dangerous animals in Africa comes not from aggression for aggression’s sake, but from their tendency to defend themselves fiercely when threatened.

• Wild Only: Unlike the water buffalo, Cape buffalo have never been domesticated. Their volatile nature makes them unsuitable for farming or draught work.

For me, the Cape buffalo is one of Africa’s most compelling animals to watch, not graceful like a giraffe or boldly patterned like a zebra, but undeniably powerful. There’s an old-world weariness in their eyes, as though they’ve weathered countless seasons, and still, every sighting brims with raw, unpredictable power.

The Water Buffalo – Asia’s River Giant

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), on the other hand, is native to Asia and was domesticated over 5,000 years ago. Today, they are found from India to Southeast Asia, and feral populations have established themselves in parts of Australia.

Refreshment of Water buffalos. Female and calf of water buffalo bathing in the pond in Sri Lanka.

• Size & Build: Water buffalo can weigh even more than Cape buffalo, with large males reaching 1,200 kilograms. They are taller, with longer legs and a less compact frame.

• Horns: Their horns are long, crescent-shaped, and sweep dramatically backwards or outwards, often spanning more than a metre from tip to tip. Unlike Cape buffalo, they do not have a fused boss.

• Habitat: True to their name, they are semi-aquatic and spend long hours wallowing in rivers, swamps, and rice paddies. Their broad, splayed hooves help them move easily through mud and wetlands.

Vietnam, Halong bay road: water buffalo

• Temperament: Domestication has made them far more docile than Cape buffalo. They are used as draught animals, capable of ploughing fields and pulling carts, and are a vital source of milk and meat.

• Domestication: In fact, more people rely on water buffalo than on any other domesticated animal worldwide. In Asia, their milk is richer in fat than cow’s milk and forms the base of cheeses like mozzarella.

When a guest points to a Cape buffalo here and calls it a water buffalo, it’s a wonderful opportunity to explain not only the differences in appearance, but also the very different roles they play, one a wild, untamed force of Africa, the other a domesticated partner in Asian agriculture.

Water Buffalo being used for agricultural purposes in Asia

Other Buffalo Worth Mentioning

Within Africa, the Cape buffalo has a few subspecies, including the smaller forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus), which roams the dense rainforests of Central and West Africa. These reddish-coated buffalo are more elusive, moving in smaller herds and thriving in habitats completely unlike the open grasslands of Londolozi.

African forest buffalo, known as dwarf buffalo, with reddish-brown coat, grazing in pasture ona  sunny summer day..

And to complicate matters further, the word “buffalo” gets borrowed elsewhere. In North America, the iconic bison was misnamed “buffalo” by early settlers, a label that has stuck despite the fact that bison are only distantly related. It’s no wonder guests sometimes arrive here unsure of what’s what.

The Cape buffalo is Africa’s own, an emblem of strength, resilience, and the raw drama of life on the savanna. The water buffalo, by contrast, is a creature of Asia’s rivers and farmlands, deeply intertwined with human culture there. Both are fascinating in their own right, but they are not the same animal.

A large buffalo bull is one of the first of more than a thousand individuals in the herd to approach a large waterhole in the late afternoon

So next time you’re out on safari and see a great herd of dark, hulking bodies moving through the grass, take a closer look. That’s no water buffalo. That’s a Cape buffalo, one of the most formidable and iconic animals of the African wilderness.