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African Buffalo Herds Concentrated in Wetlands and Forest During Gambella’s Dry Season

Large herd of African buffalo at a waterhole
Research: Ecology · Conservation: Population & status

African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) herds in Ethiopia’s Gambella National Park were concentrated strongly in permanent wetlands and forest during the dry season, while diet and daytime activity changed comparatively little. The study combined population surveys, habitat associations, diet and behaviour across wet and dry seasons in 2022 and 2023.

Annual abundance estimates were similar but highly uncertain

Researchers surveyed 35 line transects across four habitat types and recorded 399 independent herd encounters. The annual point estimates were both close to 4,600 buffalo, while a pooled model estimated 5,602 animals, or about 1.22 buffalo per km². However, the uncertainty around the annual estimates was very large, so their near-identical values should not be read as precise counts or strong evidence that abundance was exactly unchanged. The wider demographic observations did not indicate an obvious short-term collapse.

Dry-season herds concentrated near permanent water and forest

Seasonal habitat use changed much more clearly. During the dry season, about 31% of herd records came from permanent wetlands and 26.2% from forest. Buffalo occurrence was higher where forest canopy cover was greater, declined farther from water and was lower near human settlements. These patterns indicate that permanent water and wooded cover become particularly important as the landscape dries.

Diet and daytime activity remained comparatively stable

The researchers identified eleven grass species in the diet, with Urochloa mosambicensis the most prominent. Diet composition showed no clear seasonal shift despite the change in where herds were recorded. Daytime activity was likewise broadly similar between seasons. Feeding made up roughly 30% of daytime observations and followed two daily peaks rather than being spread evenly through the day.

Taken together, the results suggest that the buffalo responded to the dry season mainly by concentrating in particular habitats rather than by markedly changing diet or daytime activity. The authors describe the population as demographically stable in the short term, but emphasise that large herds compressed into shrinking dry-season refuges can still be ecologically vulnerable. Permanent wetlands, buffer areas near settlements and transboundary movement corridors are therefore highlighted as important components of the Gambella landscape.

Sources and image credit

  1. Deng, B. P., Takele, S., Rolkier, G. G., Shibru, S., & Barnabas, J. (2026). African buffalo in focus: population structure, habitat use, and systematic behaviour in Ethiopia (Gambella National Park). BMC Ecology and Evolution.Primary open-access research article published 17 September 2026. Publisher article and primary abstract checked. Field monitoring covered wet and dry seasons in 2022–2023, with 399 independent herd encounters. Annual abundance estimates were similar but imprecise, while dry-season habitat use shifted strongly toward permanent wetlands and forest.

Image: Large herd of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) at a waterhole south of Lower Sabie, Kruger National Park, South Africa, photographed 29 January 2014. Photo: Bernard DUPONT. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0. Representative waterhole image; not the Gambella study herd. · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source

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