Basic behavior:

- Cape buffalo are bulk grazers, feed on medium to tall grass heights at once unlike other grazers, they will browse sometimes during the dry season but only if the grass quality becomes extremely poor. This enables it to live in a wide variety of habitats but its most preferred habitat remains to be wooded grasslands. These feeding habits make buffalos flee areas where large aggregations of grazers like wildebeest or zebra trample old tall grass for their own pasture. Buffalos are grazing as much as in the day as they do at night making them sleeping for a few precious hours throughout an entire day, mostly at midday or the middle of the night. Buffalos need to drink every day and for that their home ranges are generally located near long-lasting water sources, they also wallow in the mud but bulls seem to wallow more as it seems that mud pieces may look more intimidating to others bulls.

- Cape buffalos are gregarious non-migratory animals and exhibit 3 main social structures:

1. Large mixed non-territorial herds made up of independent males from young adult to adult males, multiple subgroups of females, and their calves. These mixed herds live in a large home range area and occur seasonally, which means they only can be sighted during the wet season and start of the dry season. Afterward, males leave these mixed herds and subgroups to join bachelor groups or lead solitary lives until the rains return to shower the home range and triggers estrus cycles in females. 

2. The females of those herds usually exhibit a sub-group structure, which means that related females create their own groups separated from other female sub-groups in the same herd, this dynamic creates large pockets of buffalos in large herds during movements, feeding, and resting periods separated from 5-10 meters. Each sub-group has a pathfinder female, which is the oldest female in the subgroup and only assumes leadership once the main herd is on the march and will move at the front of the main herd. The members of those sub-groups are very friendly to each other and resting periods tend to have members very close together. These groups are also closed to strangers which may be harassed or hazed if they try to enter the subgroups range in the herd and can sometimes split from the main herd if desired . 3-year-old males and above tend to stay at the periphery of those herds, usually having the young males following their natal subgroups (if it's present) nearby and adult males selecting subgroups to stay nearby for mating.

3. Bachelor herds form whenever the rainy season has passed and the dry season is at its peak, they usually consist of young males who have reached adolescence and prime adult males who have left the mixed herds because of lack of estrus females. Old bulls are also considered bachelor herds although those bulls only herd with other bulls and don't join the mixed herds because of their elderly age, though both bachelor herd types stay in a rather small area during most of the dry season or the remaining of their days. When in a mixed herd males will sometimes herd together during resting periods and having dominant bulls at the front of the mixed herd behind the pathfinder females. Dominance in these herds is established by strength and age, fights can often happen during the breeding season and outside of it (though intense fights are more likely to happen in the rut, while intimidation is usually enough outside of it.)

- Buffalo are seasonal breeders, with both mating and calving occurring in the wet season. When the mating season begins, males from bachelor herds rejoin the mixed herds to mate and start to split and select specific subgroups within the herd, males proceed to then fight for the right to breed in a subgroup they selected and one bull becomes high-ranking in that group being the only one to mate until he is displaced by another male, however, subordinate bulls can try and mate behind the dominant male's back but if he catches him they'll either clash or the sub bull will move away.

- Due to their size, weaponry, and aggression, buffalo are formidable opponents for any predator to take on. Though, they are still potential prey for large predators, primarily lions. If they feel they are at risk, buffalo display heightened caution. They will visually scrutinize the surrounding area for any predators, holding their heads high to try and spot any potential threat. When ambushed or panicked, buffalos will run away tightly bunched together, primarily at cantering speed. Once comfortable, the herd or the individual will score back for what has attacked him/them. Lone or separated buffalos can seek refuge in bodies of water for temporary safety. 

Lions: Lone buffalos result to sprinting, when facing lions at first rather than fighting when being ambushed and will only fight as a last resort if after a long struggle alone buffalo manages to win, the buffalo will start chasing its foes for a bit to ensure to recover its stamina and then once it's high enough will retreat. However in herds, if lions are spotted prior to an ambush the herd will trot or walk towards it and will start chasing it away from the area for a few meters. After an ambush by lions, the herd stops stampeding and scours the area by trotting or walking to find the lions as a unit and stay relatively close together. Once they are very close to the scene, the mature bulls in the front charge at the lions one by one, trying to push the lions away long enough for the herd member being attacked to get up and into the middle of the herd. The bulls charge in intervals and don’t all mob the lions at once. If the lions retaliate the herd usually stampedes a short distance away and comes back to try again. If one lion gets separated and a buffalo caught him the herd can try and mob it to death. (Only one individual is allowed to charge, the rest of the members will have to trot or walk). If the lions prove too persistent, especially if it's night time the herd will, unfortunately, have to abandon its herd member. 

(Major note about getting pounced, when you're pounced you can no longer sprint and you'll have to turn around and face your opponent or try to keep with the herd)

Hyenas and painted wolves: Lone buffalos targetted will try to defend themselves from those predators as much as they can and if they manage to chase them off they'll remain in the general area until they leave them be which the buffalo will either rejoin its herd or walk away. Much like lions, buffalos herds will chase away the carnivores and try to protect the targetted member and if one gets caught by a herd member they can mob it to death, however, if the predators become too persistent the buffalos may leave their herd member behind.

- Another side behavior that is observed in buffalos and other large herbivores is the possibility of witnessing a herd chase away lions, leopards, hyenas, painted wolves, and cheetahs off their kills for a short while, the herd needs to be around 20 meters or so in the range of the scene in order to intervene, the buffalos will slowly walk and trot towards the scene, investigating and analyzing what is going on. The buffalos can standoff with the predators occasionally attacking but will not be as ruthless if they are very persistent and aggressive, if the prey is freed it will most likely get attacked by the buffalos while others chase off the predator for a short distance.

- Buffalos are quite territorial and don't like when other herbivores get close to them, they will give off warnings and charge as or mob as a last resort. For predators which target calves only if spotted close to the herd, the group will chase off the intruders much like how they do with lions. When it comes to saving herd members from other large animals, buffalos will only do so as a last resort and the only exceptions to that rule are an adult African bush elephant and crocodiles.