I promised a few close ups of the Buffalo that we saw the other day and here they are… I’d parked on the same side of the road as them as they lay calmly in the grass and I love to capture something different… so look out this is the sharp end of a buffalo…
This young buffalo was doing his best to get his mother to stand for a drink…. I think she was ignoring him as a weaning tactic… but it was amusing and interesting to capture on camera… he ended lying on top of her like a puppy or lion cub would do on their mothers….
One can almost see the pleading by the youngster… and the last photo, momma seems to be saying an emphatic “NO !!!”
You might have realised that I have a love relationship with Buffalos… their power, tenacity in the face of lions and their look of absolute contentment fascinates me….
But when you find them like this lying in the winter grass I can only think of one title and that is the one I’ve used above….
So here is my “Horns in the Grass”…. a different photographic perspective…..
Yesterday I showed the size of this buffalo bull, today I show you what he was actually up to…
How does a buffalo know when a cow is ready to breed? He has her deposit a drop of urine on his nose and there he will test her readiness… (glad we’re not like that!)
I can hear him saying… “something smells suspect around here…”
“A small deposit please” sniff sniff sniff !!!
“Not quite ready yet so you will have to wait for this magnificent body”
“You can beg all you want… and all this cupboard love will get you nowhere….”
“Stop it now… nothing for you till I say you are ready…” what a Bull !!!!
A bull will closely guard a cow that comes into heat, while keeping other bulls at bay. This is difficult, as cows are quite evasive and attract many males to the scene. By the time a cow is in full oestrus, only the most dominant bull in the herd/sub herd is there.
Looking at this Guy … I reckon he gets his Gal…
Between Nelspruit and Middleburg in the Mpumalanga there is a highway rest stop. We tend to stop here for Linda to buy coffee and to use the restrooms (Loos). I love the men’s room as I can stand and look out of a big glass window at the animals on a farmers land.
This trip all his African Buffalo (my favourite bovine) was at the water hole.
I love this animal for its pure size and power that exudes from it. It is scared of nothing and the size and power of the bulls has been the demise of many a lion.
This trip I saw probably the biggest bull I’ve ever seen.. look at this photo, two bulls having a rub in friendship…
But look at the size of that one on the right compared to that on the left… damn he is BIG…
The African buffalo is a very robust species. Its shoulder height can range from 1 to 1.7 m (3.3 to 5.6 ft.) and its head-and-body length can range from 1.7 to 3.4 m (5.6 to 11.2 ft.).
Looking at the condition of the one on the right I’d say he was younger than the other… but look at that head size… I am impressed and would avoid walking into this guy if he got upset…. look at his skin, what good condition, this is a bull in its prime….
The Photographic Journey of bulldog. 