CATTLE: CAPE BUFFALO (Purebred Cattle)
Original Animal Characteristics
Description: The Cape or African Buffalo is not likely to win many beauty contests. But what it lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for in viciousness.
Known as one of the "Big Five" in Africa, a phrase coined by big game hunters referring to the five large mammals that were sought in Africa. The other members of the Big Five are the lion, the African elephant, the leopard and the black
rhinoceros, chosen for the difficulty in hunting them, not their size, which is why the leopard is on the list and the enormous hippopotamus is not.
Widely regarded as a very dangerous animal, Cape Buffalo are sometimes reported to maul and kill more people in Africa than any other animal, although the same claim is sometimes made of Hippopotami or Crocodiles. Notably, big game
hunters have been killed by African buffalo than by any other African animal. Wounded Cape Buffalo are reputed to circle around and begin to stalk the hunter, waiting for an opportunity to ambush the hunger, charging to gore with its sharp
horns.
Other than humans, the Cape Buffalo have few natural predators. A very powerful creature, they demand respect from even lions, since it typically takes multiple lions to bring down a single adult. The leopard and spotted hyena are a threat
only to newborn calves. The Cape Buffalo has never been domesticated.
Usually considered nocturnal, but herds protected from hunting spend night and day almost equally, feeding at all seasons. The Cape Buffalo is non-territorial and extremely sociable, living in large, mixed herds that inhabit exclusive,
traditional home ranges. Their eyesight and hearing is quite poor but their sense of smell is excellent.
Cape Buffalo occur from open savannah to thickly wooded country, and wallow when the opportunity presents itself. They are found in Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya and
Tanzania, mostly in the savannas of eastern Africa.
After the Bomb world note: The current range of the Cape Buffalo herds is north of Zambiziland (167).
Size Level: 19 (Minimum 16 Maximum 22)
Height: up to 9 feet (1.8 m) tall.
Weight: 1323-1984 pounds (600-900 kg).
Build: Medium
Mutant Changes & Costs
Total BIO-E: 0
Attribute Bonuses: +2 to I.Q., +10 to P.S., Brute Strength, and +5D6 to S.D.C.
Human Features
Hands: Automatically full.
Biped: Automatically full.
Speech: Automatically partial.
Looks: None; A vaguely humanoid looking steer that stands upright. The legs are those of an animal, the arms and hands thin, but more human-like, the head that of a minotaur. The first, most noticeable thing about Cape Buffalo is their long
(up to 40 inches (100 cm) across; length along curve 48 to 50 in (117-150 cm)), curving horns, ending in a deadly tip on each side. The body seems to match, from the solid cloven hooves, to the beefy upper body with a short fur coat in darker
shades of grey, black, brown, or reddish-brown.
Natural Weapons:
Automatically gets a pair of long, curved, wickedly pointed horns that do 3D6 damage from either goring or head butts (+P.S. attribute and combat skill bonuses).
10 BIO-E for 2D6 damage Hoofed Feet (3D6 if a bull/male), plus P.S. damage bonus.
Mutant Animal Powers:
5 BIO-E for Advanced Hearing
10 BIO-E for Extra Mental Affinity
10 BIO-E for Extra Mental Endurance
10 BIO-E for Extra Physical Endurance
10 BIO-E for Beastly Strength
20 BIO-E for Crushing Strength
Vestigial Disadvantages:
-5 BIO-E for Vestigial Ears
-5 BIO-E for Vestigial Tail
-5 BIO-E for Musk Glands
-10 BIO-E for Prey Eyes
-10 BIO-E for Nocturnal
-10 BIO-E for Diet: Ruminant
-15 BIO-E for Reptile Brain: Uncontrolled Aggression
Notes: Don't forget that a Giant Animal can sell [i]I.Q. & M.E.[/i] and/or [i]P.P. & Speed[/i] attribute points to get extra BIO-E points without sacrificing size. See Giant Animals in the creation section of ATB2 under Growth Steps.