This detailed study of the African buffalo is distinguished by the extraordinary first-hand data obtained by the author in ten years of study. During this time, Dr Mloszewski virtually lived with the herds, moving among the animals and becoming accepted by them as a companion in their wanderings. The result is a book written from a highly unusual viewpoint and containing unique data. The book discusses the ancestry, zoological classification, and biogeographical setting of the African buffalo and describes the interactions of buffaloes with other species. The individual and collective behavior of the buffalo in the wild, as directly observed by the author, is the central subject, covering herd movements, feeding activities, hierarchies and individuals and agnostic, reproductive and other behaviors.
Reissue of a book first published in 1983.
Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Evolutionary background; 3. Methods of study; 4, The herd; 5. Herd movements; 6. Feeding activities and alimentary processes; 7. Hierarchy, status and individual specialization; 8. Agnostic behaviors; 9. Reproductive, mother-calf, and nonadult behaviors; 10. Other behaviors; 11. Vocalization; 12. Behavioral background; References; Index.