Genet Caught Riding a Buffalo

Posted in: The Wild Side

A Rare Sighting in the Maasai Mara 

Wildlife never ceases to surprise us. Recently, the Africam camera at Mahali Mzuri, a Virgin Limited Edition safari camp in Kenya’s spectacular Maasai Mara, captured an extraordinary sequence: a genet leaping onto the back of a buffalo and engaging in a string of curious behaviours.

Step into the Maasai Mara and witness this extraordinary encounter unfold in the video below.

At first, the genet scrambled onto the buffalo’s back and stood upright, pausing to survey the grasslands from its new elevated vantage point. Then, it appeared to forage directly on the buffalo itself – behaviour that could suggest opportunistic feeding on ticks, much like cattle egrets do when perching on large herbivores. Between foraging bouts, the genet could be seen scanning the tall grass below, as though searching for rodents flushed out by the grazing buffalo.

The encounter didn’t stop there. After a time, the genet launched from one buffalo to another, balancing deftly on its second host’s back. It walked the length of the animal, down its neck and even across its head before finally hopping off into the tall grass, disappearing into the night. Remarkably, the buffalo showed no signs of disturbance throughout the entire event – carrying on grazing as if nothing unusual was happening.

A History of Hitchhiking Genets

As surprising as this Maasai Mara sighting is, it is not entirely without precedent. In the mid-2010s, conservationists in South Africa’s Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park were astonished to discover camera trap images of a genet riding on both rhinos and buffalo. One individual – later nicknamed Genet Jackson – became somewhat of a legend after being photographed, and later filmed, hitching rides on multiple large mammals. At the time, researchers speculated this might be the eccentric behaviour of a single adventurous genet.

Almost a decade later, however, the mystery deepened. In late 2023, a camera trap operated by the Big Life Foundation in Kenya’s Chyulu Hills revealed another genet perched on a black rhino. This was a crucial development – evidence that the behaviour wasn’t confined to one individual in South Africa, but might actually be more widespread across genets and across regions.

Now, in 2025, Africam’s Mahali Mzuri camera has added yet another chapter with the buffalo-riding genet of the Maasai Mara. This sequence suggests the behaviour may not be as isolated as once thought.

Why Would a Genet Do This?

The motives behind this behaviour are still unknown, but several intriguing possibilities exist:

• Foraging opportunities: The genet may be feeding on ticks or other ectoparasites living on the buffalo’s hide – mirroring the symbiotic relationship between cattle egrets and large herbivores. It may also be taking advantage of rodents or insects flushed out of the grass by its massive host, with the elevated perch giving it a better vantage point for spotting prey.
• Predator avoidance: Genets are small carnivores vulnerable to lions, leopards, hyenas, and wild dogs. Normally they escape by climbing trees or rocks, but in these cases, the broad back of a buffalo could provide a temporary safe haven.
• Multiple benefits: Perhaps the most compelling idea is that the genet is not doing this for a single reason at all. By climbing onto buffalo or rhino, it may gain food, safety, and a better hunting position all at once – a risky but highly rewarding strategy.

Rare Behaviour, or Rarely Seen?

The question remains: is this truly rare behaviour, or simply something we have seldom observed? Large spotted genets are nocturnal and elusive, and until recent years, few cameras were around to monitor their night-time antics. With the growing use of camera trap technology – and Africam’s 24/7 live-streaming cameras placed across key wilderness areas – we may finally be glimpsing behaviours that have quietly existed for centuries.

Whether opportunistic feeding, predator evasion, or a form of unrecorded symbiosis, each new sighting deepens the mystery. What is clear is that these small, resourceful carnivores are capable of surprising us – and that even in the most well-watched ecosystems, there is still so much left to discover.

Keep an eye out for this wild genet behaviour yourself on the Mahali Mzuri Live stream.