Head: muzzle large and broad, naked and moist, with large nasal fossae in the tip. Small eyes and big ears, perpendicular to the body. Neck short and strong. Horns greatly developed and thick, glued at the root in a massive frontal base, curved outwards and downwards, with the tips turned upwards and inwards. Present in both sexes, though in females they are less developed and the base is lighter.

Herds are ruled by dominance relationships established according to fighting abilities. The great herd is dominated by an adult bull, but the one who leads the group when moving is generally an old cow. Females climb in the rank after maternity. When moving, dominant individuals march in the first place and in the central core, accessing to the best food and achieving better protection against predators. When they are 3 years old, young males leave their mother's group to associate with equals, always within the herd, but they have to wait till they are 7 or 8 years old to exercise their fighting abilities and gain the right to mate.

Buffalos are equally diurnal and nocturnal, though outside the protected areas they tend to be more active by night. During the day they hide in the bush seeking protection from sunlight, often near a water source. In the evening and at night they come out to feed and drink, returning afterwards to ruminate under cover. When the herd is grazing, the explorers remain alert to warn the group of any possible danger. It is a sedentary animal, occupying wide territories on a permanent basis. It frequently visits the mud ponds, where it rolls to relief its body from the parasites' bites. The mud bath serves as a barrier against horseflies and other insects, and at the same time traps the parasites when it dries up. Later, the animal gets rid of them by rubbing the dry mud of his body against a tree trunk.

Its sight and hearing are poor, so buffalos trust in their very sensitive smell, capable of detecting a predator 250 m away. In general they are silent, except in the mating season, at the end of the long rains. In these days, grunts and bellows are the usual music in the herd and males can be seen fighting fiercely, pressing their horn bases in a wrestling competition. In spite of all, the African buffalo is actually a placid animal, save when it is injured or at bay. In such cases it can show a very aggressive behaviour.

Buffalos have two permanent partners, cattle egrets and oxpeckers. The former eat insects removed from the ground and grass by the bovine's motion. In exchange, these birds warn buffalos of any possible threat. On the other hand, oxpeckers hang from the buffalo's body and feed on ticks and fly larvae that hide amongst the hair and in the open wounds. In addition, these birds complement their diet with scabs and pieces of dry flesh and skin, so they perform a very beneficial task of wound cleansing.

The major buffalo's predator is the lion, that preferentially attacks the small bachelor groups, since the great herds offer a high level of protection to their members. Hyenas prey on calves and on sick or weak animals, and crocodiles can grab them while fording a river. Buffalos have been seriously beaten along history by rinderpest epidemics such as those occurred in the 1890's. Still, their population is today plentiful, and in certain locations it is even more abundant than it was ever before. Its longevity is 16-20 years.