African Buffalo Twins

23april2008
Source: zooantwerpen.be
Antwerp Zoo was surprised by a unique event: an African buffalo giving birth to twins. Even in the wild, this is very rare. The caretakers suspect that both baby-buffalos are girls.
In the wild, the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) or cape buffalo inhabits the South and East of Africa, South of the Sahara.

Both cows and bulls have heavy ribbed horns that grow down and then up. The horns are fearsome weapons.
African Buffalos live in herds of several hundred animals. During the rainy season, herds may merge into herds of thousands of Buffalos. These contain mainly females and offspring. Bulls have their own bachelor groups.
The behavior of buffalos can be very aggressive and unpredictable, but most of the time they are very peaceful, if they are left alone. When a herd is attacked by predators, the adults will form a circle, in order to protect the calves and the handicapped animals.

Cows have a gestation period of 340 days. The calves are nursed for a year, before they switch to grass and leaves. In the zoo, the buffalos eat grass, beets, dry food and hay.