http://allafrica.com/stories/201307080017.html


Tanzania: Rare Buffalo Sighted in Ngorongoro
By Marc Nkwame, 8 July 2013




Ngorongoro — JUST when ecologists worldwide thought they have cracked all wildlife theories, a new discovery has emerged in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority where a rare sighting of strangely coloured buffalo is raising pandemonium.

Normally, buffaloes have been coal-black but recently a cream-white variety has been spotted making rounds at the edge of the legendary Ngorongoro crater and already, conservators, ecologists and zoological researchers are on its trail.

"It is indeed a rare and very strange development as far as wildlife in both Ngorongoro and country as whole is concerned," admits the NCAA chief ecologist Mr Patrice Mattay.

The white buffalo was initially spotted by officers serving at the Ngorongoro Police Post who claim to be seeing the strange species around their post on frequent basis but usually in the early hours of the morning.

The Officer in Charge of the Station, JJ Paul confirms that he has seen the white buffalo several times; "At first I heard the news of the strange animal from other cops and recently I saw the buffalo grazing amid a group of other animals on the crater edge," he said.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area has over 350 large buffaloes among 300,000 other animals living within and on the edge of the massive crater. The "white" buffalo is likely to be the only one spotting such strange colour amid the species.

The Manager in-charge of conservation at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, Mr Amiyo T Amiyo stated that the discovery of the strange coloured buffalo calls for a new type of zoological study in the vicinity.

Normally, all wildlife studies in the Northern Zone circuit were strictly confined to carnivores especially lions, wilddogs and cheetahs but now buffaloes may join the list.

A honky buff. That going to cause a lot of crap. I bet they name him cracker.

Creepy ass cracker will be his moniker.

Could it be an Albino ?

We have seen white lions and golden wildebeest - could this be another case of genetic enhancement - added tourist attraction for Ngorongoro ?

Jokes aside, there have been reported instances of albino buffalo before; maybe not as "creamy white" as reported but definite cases of albinism.

Last year in Niassa we saw and filmed a solid white buff calf in a herd of about 100 buff...

Albino. So what? Big deal.

In this part of the world the some of the natives attach spiritual significance to the arrival of a white buffalo calf. IIRC, it may herald the return of the bison herds that vanished underground in the 1870s and the disappearance of us wasicu.

Dean

Wont be long before SCI has a white buffalo category...

David

That was my thought as well.

We have the odd full and partial Albino
turn up in our herds of Water Buffalo
and we shot one a few years back.

If it was in South Africa, they'd be saying that South Africa is only for Black Buffalo. No white buffalos allowed.

quote:

The Manager in-charge of conservation at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, Mr Amiyo T Amiyo stated that the discovery of the strange coloured buffalo calls for a new type of zoological study in the vicinity.

Zoological studies? .... God help us! - It also surprising someone hasn't killed it for medicinal purposes!

A kitty cat will sort it out before long. It being too obvious.

Saw one in Mikumi Nat Park in the mid'90s. He appeared light brownish because his coat was dirty from mud and dirt. I took a pic (before digital cameras) but it ws too far to clearly identify if it was an albino (red eyes).....

So much drama

quote:

Originally posted by Bwanamich:
So much drama

More to the point for those involved....... so much opportunity to get some silly white folks to invest in a totally pointless study that will offer so many opportunities to make a few bob!

Or am I being cynical?

http://allafrica.com/stories/201307221447.html


Tanzania: Ngorongoro Authority Officials Trace Strange White Buffalo Species
By Marc Nkwame, 21 July 2013



Arusha — OFFICIALS at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) have succeeded in tracing the mysterious buffalo said to be spotting a white coat of fur contrary to the usual black hide found in all buffaloes.

The Manager of Conservation at NCAA, Mr Amiyo T. Amiyo, said the white buffalo has already been spotted several times around the conservation area's police station located on the brink of the legendary Ngorongoro Crater.

"At least, we can now confidently report that the buffalo is real, it is indeed white though on closer inspection the animal seems to be developing some strand of dark fur in some areas around its body," explained Mr Amiyo, adding that after taking its pictures, albeit from a distance, the next step was to take samples of the white buffalo's blood.

"We may have to dart-gun the buffalo, collect its blood samples for comparison with that of other ordinary species in order to determine whether it's a new breed or a possible case of albinism in the wild animals," stated the Conservation Manager.

However, he revealed that within the same herd of buffaloes in which the white one was seen, there was yet another strange buffalo sporting a white mark on the forehead, making it look like an ordinary multicoloured domestic cow.

And while the 'white' coloured buffalo which was recently spotted within NCAA proved to be a rather strange case, the second one with patches of white against black coat of fur is leaving researchers speechless.

"We may also be at the brink of a new discovery because ordinarily buffaloes spot a uniform colour (black), a multi-coloured buffalo has never been seen anywhere else in Tanzania or world for that matter," maintained Mr Amiyo.

The NCAA has over 350 buffaloes among 300,000 other large mammals living within the legendary crater or on the edge surrounding the caldera.

The rare sighting of strangely coloured buffalo started raising pandemonium in Ngorongoro recently when teams of police officers and park wardens reported the presence of such white animal. The second appearance of the other one with patches of white may further fuel the case.

Normally buffaloes have been featuring coal-black coat and reports of the presence of a cream-white variety has raised new questions among conservators, ecologists and zoological researchers who are now on the animals trail.

"It is indeed a rare and very strange development as far as wildlife in both Ngorongoro and the country as a whole is concerned," admits the NCAA chief ecologist, Mr Patrice Mattay.

In America, a white buffalo, which is also called the American bison, usually possesses white fur and is considered sacred or spiritually significant in several Native American religions; therefore, such buffalo are often visited for prayer and other religious rituals.

"It is indeed a rare and very strange development as far as wildlife in both Ngorongoro and the country as a whole is concerned," admits the NCAA chief ecologist, Mr Patrice Mattay.

Amen, Brother!

As I said, so much drama

There doesn't seem to be much proof on whether these animals are albino or not but if they are, it's not the first time albinoism has occurred in buffalo.

My friend Jon Speed who was part of the team that originally laid out the SGR hunting blocks with Brian Nicholson and of Mauser books fame (all great reads BTW) saw albino buff in SGR on two separate occasions.

The first was back in 1973 and and the second in 1975. Both were confirmed as albinos and both sightings were in the general area in the island swamps of the north east selous where buff herds got to over 1000 head in the dry season. This is the area where old clary palmer wilson used to operate in up through sept.1973. Now this area has 6 photo safari camps and the place is like mad zoo with motor boats and tourist vehicles running around.

My (e) conversation with Jon reminded me of the troupe of baboons in MK1 that had a fair number of albino females amongst their number........ I've no idea why they were all females but FWIW, I never saw a male albino amongst them.

There was an Albino buffalo Bull in Chirisa several years ago as well as an Albino Impala- both were strictly protected by Parks and were off limits as far as trophy hunting! ( would not surprise me if they shot them as rations though!)

quote:

Originally posted by Buzz Charlton:
There was an Albino buffalo Bull in Chirisa several years ago as well as an Albino Impala- both were strictly protected by Parks and were off limits as far as trophy hunting! ( would not surprise me if they shot them as rations though!)

Wonder how long those same 350 head have been inbreeding? Look for 2 heads and 5 legs anytime now.
k

http://allafrica.com/stories/201308120304.html


Tanzania: Strangely Coloured Buffalo Evasive
By Marc Nkwame, 12 August 2013



Arusha — THE strangely coloured buffalo which is still baffling many in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority is proving difficult to capture despite being spotted several times now.

The manager in-charge of conservation at NCAA, Mr Amiyo T. Amiyo, said the buffalo, which is the first of its kind on the African continent, only appears on the age of the legendary crater in the early hours of the morning amid a large herd of around 20 other black-coloured cows.

Being possibly the most ferocious animals in the wild, it is not possible to single out one buffalo from the rest of the team without attracting fury from other beasts and usually a war waged by buffaloes is nothing short of a hurricane that is why a furious buffalo in Swahili changes from "Nyati" into "Mbogo."

"What we intend to do is to dart the white buffalo then carry it into the laboratory, take samples of its blood and analyse it in order to find out whether the animal is a different species from the herd of just suffers from albinism," explained Mr Amiyo.

Already, another strange buffalo, the one which spotted fur, featuring both black and white patches has also been spotted alongside the creamy white one and the management of NCAA is yearning to come up with an astounding breakthrough which is likely to transform Tanzania's wildlife and tourism sectors.

Arusha hosts Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) in the Njiro section of the city, which for years, has been concentrating on other wildlife species, especially lions and wild dogs but now the zoological experts there seem to have buffaloes, precisely white ones, in their hands. But, this is subject to successful capture of the tricky animal at NCAA.

http://www.huntingreport.com/w...te.cfm?articleid=647


Link to photo of an albino giraffe recently seen in Rungwa.

quote:

Originally posted by boondoggle:
Creepy ass cracker will be his moniker.

+1

quote:

Originally posted by kevin henderson:
Wonder how long those same 350 head have been inbreeding? Look for 2 heads and 5 legs anytime now.
k

And when they show up they'll be blamed on global warming, burning coal, gun ownership, lack of free health insurance, or any of the other left-wing extremist causes/excuses that can be used for spending lots of money.

It sounds like it is not mixing with the other buff. It's just a mutation not a new species. Maybe they are rejecting it for it's color. The thing to do would be to capture it and start a breeding program like they did with the white lions, otherwise the lions will get a lone buff.