Who would win a battle between these two huge animals?
These species will not encounter each other under normal circumstances so getting them together to fight would be extra hard.
If you place these wild cows together, they will most likely become buddies and make a herd.
Also known as the African Buffalo, the Cape Buffalo is a species of African bovines that are famous for their huge body and randomly aggressive behavior, and thus, they have a reputation of being very dangerous animals.
This explains why humans have never attempted to domesticate them.
India is the main and proud host of the Indian Bison or Gaur which is the biggest and tallest in the Bovidae family of wild cows–even larger than the bison and the water buffalo.
Since 1986, the Indian Bison has been included in the list of endangered species because of its waning population.
Currently, the bulky animal is well preserved and guarded in some popular national parks.
Their Size and Body Description
The African Cape buffalo is fairly short as it measures just 51 to 59 inches or 130 to 150 cm tall and has fairly short legs. However, its weight is huge as it weighs 935 to 1910 pounds or 425 to 870 kilos.
The male buffalos grow around 220 pounds of 100 kilos more than female cows, and their horns are typically broader and thicker.
The fur of mature buffalos is black, except in younger calves, whose coats are dark brown.
The Indian Bison is likewise well-endowed and pretty powerful.
They bear a convex form on their foreheads. Their limbs are also pretty powerful and solid.
The adult Indian gaur bull weighs on average 1300 to 3300 pounds or 600 to 1500 kilos.
It also reaches 7.9 to 11 feet or 2.4 to 3.4 feet lengthwise with a tail that stretches around 27 to 41 or 70 to 105 centimeters.
They also stand around 5.5 to 7.5 feet or 1.7 to 2.3 meters tall.
They have a distinct ridge that covers their entire back.
Their back also has sparsely scattered hair.
They usually have a short tail which is shorter than an ox.
Both sexes have horns.
Their horns have a light green or yellowish-brown hue and are not oriented upwards but have a slight inward direction.
The newborn bison calves have pale golden yellow color which gradually turns into light brown and then brick red-brown.
Their Range and Environment
Cape buffalos are found in S. Africa as well as Central and W. African rainforests.
Cape buffalos are the biggest subspecies located in S. and E. Africa.
You can spot them in African countries like Togo, Somalia, Zambia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Guinea, and Zimbabwe.
They can live in almost any kind of grassland area–from semi-desert savannahs to lowland floodplains and hybrid forests.
However, they prefer to inhabit densely covered regions like coverts and reeds.
These wild cows need water to survive and thus they rely on seasonal water sources.
Unlike its Western counterpart, the Indian Bison is more densely populated.
These Indian buffalos choose to live in evergreen and humid hardwood forests. But, they can live in drier forest areas as well.
You can’t see them in extremely high altitudes like the Himalayas which exceed 6000 feet or 1800 meters above sea level. They typically stay solely in foothills.
Grounds with minerals and salts are a major source of attraction for them.
What Do They Eat?
Buffalo herds have an environmental footprint on the veld.
Famous for being mass grazers, they can turn broad grasslands into smaller grassy spots.
These buffalos can also live and move along tall and dense grasslands.
When they eat, they use their tongues and broad incisor row to consume more amounts of grass faster.
If there’s no grass in sight, they will look for woody plants.
The Indian Gaur is also a grazer and loves to feed on fruits, stems, flowers, seeds, and leaves.
They typically eat during the early morning hours and late evenings.
Their favorite food choices include the Golden shower tree, Indian Boxwood, the Cashew tree, and East Indian Screw Tree.
Sometimes when they don’t have enough food, they will supplement their diets by debarking trees. They commonly debark teak trees which are rich in potassium and calcium.
Their Social Behavior
African buffalos are social animals that display a very social lifestyle and live in big herds with members that sometimes exceed one thousand animals.
Typically, there are two kinds of buffalo herds: a big one with members from both genders and every age group aka the “breeding herd” and a smaller all-male herd known as the “bachelor herd”.
Their groups are usually smaller in areas with heavier plantations.
Male members are sometimes aggressive towards one another and when two bulls engage in major battles, which is uncommon, one or both can be fatally wounded.
African buffalos are considered to be dangerous for humans–so dangerous that even the original trophy hunters considered them among the most dangerous animals to hunt in Africa.
Indian bison groups are smaller, usually consisting of 8 to 11 animals, but they can sometimes reach 40 animals.
Their herds usually feature a predominant male and several females and young ones.
Other males may form bachelor herds or choose to live alone as they get older.
Habitual aggressive behavior is displayed by both genders to keep the dominance structure.
Their aggressive demeanor is showcased by broad movements of the head back and forth or from one side to another.
So now let’s get back to our main question: who would win between these two wild cows?? The African cape buffalo or the Indian Gaur?
If we consider their size, the Indian gaur is obviously advantageous.
However, the African buffalo is typically more aggressive, and that measures up for their less privileged size.
Cape buffalos have been observed to attack even rhinos and elephants. They can also wound lions and flee in some cases, especially when they are moving in larger herds where one member protects the other.
The Capes tend to live in larger herds while Indian gaurs move in much smaller herds.
I believe since these animals weigh nearly the same, the buffalo would likely win because of its aggressive and highly defensive behavior. It also has a thicker and stronger neck compared to its Indian cousin.
Also, the Cape buffalo is wilder whereas the Indian gaur is domesticated in some cases.
The difference between their weight may also reach 1400 pounds or 635 kilos and we have an obvious winner here.
However, the power of Indian Gaur will be hard to beat.
So we’d place our bets on Gaur if there was a fight between these two.