Cape Buffalo Brilliantly Uses Its Horns to Help Its Fallen Friend Escape a Lion Attack

A lone buffalo doesn’t stand much chance against a ferocious lion. However, Cape buffalo are rarely alone. Working together as a group, Cape buffalo cooperate to ensure the safety of their companions. They are strong and formidable, but sometimes all they need to do is think outside the box, as seen in this YouTube video.

Inside a Cape Buffalo Herd

Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) is a subspecies of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). They live in the coastal savannas, montane grasslands, semi-arid bushland, and lowland rainforests of South and East Africa. These are truly massive animals, standing about 5.5 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing up to 2,000 pounds. Both male and female Cape buffalo grow horns, though the males’ horns are larger. These impressive horns help protect the buffalo and their herd against predators. Males also use their horns to fight each other for social status and during the mating season.

Cape buffalo live in large herds, often numbering into the hundreds or even thousands. They are very social animals and cooperate to protect each other. Members of the herd groom one another and often sleep with their heads resting on a nearby companion.

How Cape Buffalo Work Together

When there is danger, the herd forms a protective ring around young calves or sick and injured buffalo, positioning stronger members on the outside to face any threats. While a single buffalo might not pose a threat to a large predator like a lion, a few hundred working in tandem create a formidable force. These buffalo will often stomp or charge at predators to drive them away. Stronger members of the herd might even mob a predator until it leaves them alone.

Cape buffalo often assist herd members who are weak or injured. If a buffalo is in danger, especially a younger one, it will cry out or bellow, signaling for help. When other buffalo hear this, they immediately rush to aid the endangered buffalo. Cape buffalo sometimes even directly intervene and charge at the threat with their sharp horns.

Cape buffalo commonly assist fellow herd members even after a buffalo appears to have already lost the fight. In this YouTube video, a large lion tackles a buffalo, but a second buffalo rushes in to help. Using its horns, the second buffalo flips its friend upright, allowing him to escape and avoid becoming the lion’s next meal. The buffalo didn’t have to help; it could have fled to safety. But true to their cooperative nature, the buffalo stood by its friend and ensured his escape.