In any particular region, males average considerably larger than females. There is a thick covering of hair on young individuals, a sparse covering on adults, and little hair on old animals.
Coloration is brownish to black.
Commonly, S. c. caffer is black and S. c. nana is red. The head and limbs are massive, the breadth of the chest is great, and the ears are relatively large, drooping, and fringed by soft hairs. The horns spread outward and downward and then upward in some animals, and out and back in others. In males the two horns are joined by a boss, a large shield covering the whole top of the head. The African buffalo occurs in a great variety of habitats but prefers areas with grass, water, and some dense cover.