106 Great and Small Game of Africa 



brown, and do not turn black until they are nearly it" not quite three 

 years old. When in its prime the Cape buffalo is covered with a 

 fairly abundant coat of coarse and intensely black hair, and its large 

 drooping ears are edged with long black fringes of a much softer 

 character. The tassel at the end of the tail, though well developed, 

 is perhaps not quite so thick nor so wavy as in the ordinary domestic 

 ox. With age both the bulls and the cows begin to lose their coats, 

 at first along the back behind the shoulders, though the baldness gradu- 

 ally spreads till very old animals become almost as devoid of hair 

 as a wart-hog, and at last lose both the fringes on the ears and the 

 tassel on the end of the tail. 



In countries suitable to their habits, and where the pasture is 

 abundant, buffaloes consort together — I suppose I ought to say they used 

 to do so — in herds of from 50 to 200 or 300 individuals, and I once, on the 

 banks of the Chobi, saw at least 1000 of these animals together. 



On that occasion, however, I believe that several large herds had 

 joined company, and were moving up the river together in search 

 of grass. 



The old bulls that have been driven from the herds by younger and 

 more vigorous males, either live alone or in twos and threes, though 

 in parts of the country where buffaloes are really plentiful five or six 

 old bulls will often consort together, and I once met with fifteen, every 

 one of them long past the prime of life. Such a concourse of old bulls 

 is, I think, very unusual, and would not be possible except in a country 

 where buffaloes were very abundant. In their habits buffaloes almost 

 exactly resemble tame cattle. In hot weather they drink twice a day, 

 early in the morning, and again late in the afternoon. In the cool of the 

 evening and during the early part of the night they feed on grass and 

 young reeds, then lie down till after midnight, getting up to feed again 

 towards morning. 



