GPS Collaring a Dangerous African Buffalo is No Easy Task (Slideshow)
Photo credit: Martin Harvey / WWF-Canon
The African buffalo, better known as the cape buffalo, is wide-ranging and numerous, with an estimated 900,000 individuals in the wild. This status, however, is not as secure as it seems.
The large migratory mammal -- nicknamed "Black Death" for its violent nature -- often ventures out of protected areas—and across national borders—into places where hunters, poachers, and fearful farmers target them for their horns, trophy status, and threatening size.
Monitoring populations is critical for ensuring the population remains healthy. Recently, a research team sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) tagged animals in Namibia that commonly range into Angola, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.