Activity cycles
Sinclair (1974c) found that the amount of time which buffalo spent on feeding remained fairly constant throughout the year and, during the wet season, there was no pattern of daily activity cycles.
In the dry season daily cycles of activity became more pronounced: buffalo spent little time grazing in the hottest part of the day and devoted longer periods to ruminating when food quality was poorer.
Much of this behaviour demonstrates adaptations aimed at reducing energy expenditure when food is limiting.
Buffalo are selective grazers in the wet season but this behaviour creates difficulties for them in the dry season when little is left of their preferred species.