Male buffaloes in Aberdare National Park, Kenya, have been losing their testicles and tails to the hungry and angry hyaenas. The hyaenas seems to have developed a liking of the buffalo’s balls and are biting them off at an alarming rate. It is very common to come across a tail-less and testicle-less buffalo in Aberdare.
This phenomenon has been linked to the lack of predators like lions within the park thus affecting the food chain which denies the hyaenas their scavenging role. The hyaenas are forced to be full time hunter instead of scavenging for leftovers that have been left by other predators. This forces them to hunt on easily available parts (low hanging fruits). Since they lack the power to strangle, they depend on biting off hanging parts for survival.
Young male buffaloes are the easiest targets as hyenas can easily creep under, biting off the testicles and tails especially at night.
This strange phenomenon has been going on since 2008 but, of late, has escalated, with hyaenas literally keeping their eyes on the balls.
This however does not pose an immediate danger to the population of buffaloes within the park. According to the park management, one healthy buffalo with intact organs can still mate with 50 females and successfully sire.
It has been hypothesized that losing of the testicles at an early age is affecting the development and growth of horns in male buffaloes. Some of the testicle-less buffaloes have irregular horns, complicating their lives further considering the park is forested. With awkward facing horns, finding their way through the bushes is a tough task.
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