Syncerus caffer is a bovine native to Africa. It has an unpredictable nature, making it highly dangerous to humans, which has caused it to not become domesticated. They are very successful grazers, living in swamps, floodplains, grasslands, and forests from the highest mountains down to sea level. they use their tongue and wide incisor row to eat grass quicker than any other African herbivore, and don't stay on trampled or depleted areas for long.

The Cape Buffalo have few threats in the wild, aside from humans. They can defend themselves against and sometimes even kill lions. It takes multiple lions to take down an adult buffalo, with large male lions being the only ones known to have taken down an adult on their own. Smaller predators such as the leopard and hyena are a threat only to newborns, if they can get ahold of it. The adult buffalo will herd gather closely together, encircling the calves to protect them, and will run to aid a calf calling in distress.