Watch Two Giant Buffalo Go Head-to-Head in the Water in a Surprising Show of Strength

When we see large animals of the same species going head to head in what looks to be a fight, it can be an incredibly frightening experience. However, sometimes they are merely play-fighting. Given animals like the buffalo’s size and power, it can be difficult to tell which. Let’s see how this fight plays out in the video above with these buffalo. 

Buffalo Sightings in Mabula

The next YouTube video shown at the beginning of this blog post takes us to Mabula in South Africa. The Africam Videos is a live streaming service in Africa that gathers real-time footage of animals in the wild in remote locations. Africam shares real-time wildlife camera footage from locations across Africa, which can capture animal behavior with less direct human disturbance than footage filmed from nearby vehicles or on-foot observers.

Buffalo Going Head-to-Head

As the video begins, we see the hidden camera set up in Mabula at this river, where animals frequently come to visit. And suddenly, two massive buffalo are seen coming to the water for hydration and to cool off. They both get in the water when one of them bends his head down and butts heads with the other. 

This causes their heavy, ridged horns to clash. In African buffalo, the horns grow out from the head and typically curve downward before turning upward. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, “The horns are formidable weapons against predators and are used when jostling for space within the herd; males use the horns in fights for dominance.” 

The behavior in the video appears more consistent with sparring or a dominance interaction than an all-out fight. Male African buffalo commonly use their horns in tests of strength and social ranking. These horn-clashing encounters can function as tests of strength between males, helping establish dominance without necessarily escalating into a prolonged, violent fight.

What Animals Live in Mabula? 

Mabula is in Limpopo, South Africa, and the private reserve spans about 12,000 hectares, or roughly 29,650 acres. Many people come to visit yearly as the game reserve offers a few once-in-a-lifetime activities in the wild, such as a golf course and even a hot air balloon safari!

Mabula is home to the Big Five — lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and African buffalo — along with other well-known species such as cheetah, jackal, honey badger, and many antelope, including eland, gemsbok, red hartebeest, and blesbok.

African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) are generally classified as Least Concern, and species-level estimates often place their total population at roughly 570,000 animals across Africa.