Beefalo

Beefalo are neutral Mobs. When one Beefalo is attacked, all others nearby will become hostile to the player. Beefalo deal 34 damage with each hit. They drop 3 beefalo wool and 4 meat when killed, even if they have been shaved. They are considered innocent creatures and killing one adds 4 points to the player's naughtiness level, which can cause Krampus to appear.

Beefalo can be shaved with a Razor while they sleep, which causes them to drop 3 Beefalo Wool. They will regain their hair back in a couple of days and can be shaved again at that point. A Beefalo Hat can be crafted with 8 Beefalo Wool and 1 Beefalo Horn. They also drop Manure (even in Sleep), which is used for fertilizing Plants and farming.

Beefalo are indigenous to the savanna biome, which can be recognized by its numerous grass bushes and straw like terrain. Beefalo also have a coordinated herd movement and they try to stay together and not wander into other biomes. When dusk comes around all nearby beefalos will group together for the night. Herds regenerate during mating season off-screen. They take three blasts from the Ice Staff to be frozen.

Mating Season
When the mating season starts Beefalos make noises similar to those when they die. They will rear up on their hind legs and wave their tails. Beefalos will also have a reddish colored behind when mating season has started. Beefalo will attack all other Mobs and the player, unless they are wearing a Beefalo Hat. (Beefalos will ignore the player if the player has a Beefalo Hat on, which makes it easier to collect manure, since the beefalos will become hostile if you are near them for too long without a Beefalo Hat on).

If a player has a Smallbird, Smallish Tallbird, Pig, Chester or controlled Spider, the Beefalo will attack them on sight if they come close. If the player aggravates a beefalo in heat during the day by moving close or even attacking it, it will only chase the player for a short distance before stopping. If aggravated during the night they will have unlimited chase distance similliar to when attacked when not in heat, but will stop chasing once night is over.

Since "A little Rain must fall" update was released, mating season duration was decreased to 3 days from 5 days, and it starts after day 12 instead of 10. Beefalo can still be shaved during mating season, however the shaven Beefalo (and sometimes those nearby) will wake up and gain aggro towards the player. This makes shaving during mating season, especially at night, dangerous.

Birds foolish enough to land near Beefalos during mating season are quickly turned into morsels and feathers - gifts for the player wearing a Beefalo Hat.

Combat
When the player attacks one Beefalo all nearby Beefalo will become aggressive. However, every Beefalo that was not attacked will lose interest in the player fairly quickly, while the one that was attacked will seemingly chase the player forever. Beefalo are faster than the player, but they must stop for a moment to attack and their attack is not instant, meaning if the player keeps running, they will not get hit. This makes it possible to attack a single Beefalo and lure it away from the herd because the rest of the herd will stop chasing. They attack slowly, with multiple seconds between attacks. This makes it easy to "Kite" them. If the player has a herd of Beefalos nearby them and monsters are chasing, it is possible to kite the monster into the herd and they may turn on each other, rendering the player free from peril.

Alternatively, you can wait for nightfall when the beefalo are asleep. You can then use pinecones to form of circle of trees around the herd. By putting a fire next to the trees and feeding it fuel, the trees will eventually catch on fire. Some of the beefalo will perish in the fire, but the meat remains. The upsides of this strategy is that it's fairly easy to do, the beefalo don't wake up and they don't perceive you as an enemy so they won't attack you - not even when they wake up in the morning. Furthermore, the burnt trees can be chopped down and will then give you charcoal. It is recommendable to play as Willow since she is immune to fire damage and thus won't be injured if you go too close to the burning trees.