It should be easy to tell the difference between a buffalo and a bison. All you really need to know is that one will let you sit on its back, the other will trample you to death.
But that’s not the whole story of these fascinating bovines…
The confusion over buffalos and bisons really arises because of the US tradition of referring to the American bison as a buffalo. Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer who founded the Canadian city of Quebec, gave the animals the name of buffles (from the Latin bufalus meaning wild ox) when he first saw them depicted in a native American drawing in 1616.
The name bison was conferred on the US and the European species towards the end of the 17th century when it was decided that they were close relatives of the now extinct auroch – the wild ancestor of our present-day domestic cattle – that inhabited Europe, Asia and Africa from Neolithic times until around 3,000 years ago.
DNA studies have now confirmed this to be the case, also placing bison as near relatives of yaks. Unfortunately, by the time the American variant were officially named bison, the moniker ‘buffalo’ had stuck.
Close relatives of the American bison/buffalos are the European bison, which have always been called bison. They are closest in DNA terms to yaks and the now extinct wild European cattle called aurochs.
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In contrast, there are two species of true buffalo, the water buffalo and the African buffalo, which has five subspecies, and they have always been known as buffalos.
Buffalo v bison: appearance
Water and African buffalos have brown, black or grey bodies with very short hair. Their horns are large, shaped in an arc and spread widely out from their heads. They also have large ears, slightly whiskery chins, long legs and hefty hooves.
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The two types of buffalo are similar to each other in appearance, although the horns of the African species meet in the middle of their heads and form what is called a ‘boss’. This gives them a very hard weapon with which to butt competing buffalos and predators. These horns also angle slightly downwards, while water buffalo horns sweep backwards in a line from their wide, clear foreheads.
American bison, by contrast, have a long, shaggy coat covering their front quarters, front legs and heads, light or dark brown depending on the season. Their bodies are relatively narrow, their horns are much shorter than true buffalos, and they sport a thick beard. They also have a pronounced hump behind their heads.
The European bison is slightly less hairy than the American, apart from its tail which is more luxurious, and they have longer legs. Their horns also point more forwards.
Buffalo v bison: habitat
Water buffalos can be found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, although domesticated animals have been exported over the centuries to places as far apart as Italy and Australia where they have occasionally turned feral.
African buffalos inhabit sub-Saharan areas from Senegal to South Africa. The large and imposing Cape buffalo is considered one of the continent’s Big Five game animals.
American bison divide into plains animals and wood animals. They used to roam widely across the grasslands of present-day United States and the western parts of Canada. Unfortunately, their value for sport and skins, and as a way of depriving indigenous people of a main source of food, clothing and tools, was too tempting for early European settlers on the land, and they were slaughtered by the tens of thousands in the 19th century, to the point of near-extinction.
European bison are spread throughout a number of countries in the centre and east of the continent, living in forests and on mountainsides. They had been hunted to extinction in the wild in most places by the early 20th century, many by soldiers in World War One, but they have been extensively reintroduced to reserves thanks to captive breeding programmes from zoo animals.
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Buffalo v bison: eating habits
Water buffalos eat a wide range of greenery, from grasses to maize, shrubs, bark, banana leaves and aquatic plants. Since the world population consists mainly of domesticated animals, their principle diet is fodder provided by humans.
African buffalos graze on tall grasses which they loop their long tongues around to pull up. Once an area of grass has been flattened by the herd’s hooves they move on to a new area. American bison graze on grasses and sedges, and occasionally sagebrush, and roam around as they eat. They have been recorded covering an average of two miles a day with the herd. In winter weather they use their massive humped heads to clear snow drifts to reach the grass below and they eat snow for moisture when rivers and lakes are frozen.
European bison eat many different leaves, shoots, bark, grasses, fungi and herbs, and even munch on small twigs.
Buffalo v bison: behaviour
Water buffalos divide into those inhabiting locations around rivers and those living near swamps. The former love nothing better than plunging into deep water, the latter tend to wallow in muddy patches. Since they live in hot and humid climates, being submerged in water or cooling mud is essential for regulating their temperature.
They will live in herds as they are sociable animals, but as they are largely domesticated they are often solitary or only in a small group. They are placid animals that get along well with their human companions. In fact, a broad water buffalo back provides a comfy sleeping platform for small boys when they are sent to tend the animals at the end of a working day.
African buffalos live in large herds that form around a core of mature females with mixed younger animals around the edges. They practise a strange form of democracy. When the herd is sitting at rest the females will occasionally stand up and turn around before sitting down again, pointing in what seems to be the direction they think the herd should travel in next. Once there appears to be a consensus on the direction, they all get up and head off.
Female American bison live in herds with other females and male calves until they are around three years old. Males live in bachelor herds, although dominant bulls often strike out on their own. In the mating season a large bull will gather a number of females and shield them from the approaches of other males until they are allowed to mate with them. Non-dominant males get their chance when the big guys have moved on.
American bison are also animals that command respect. They will charge relentlessly if they feel threatened and have killed people on a number of occasions in the US.
European bison live in mixed herds, with different groups coming together every now and then to exchange members and widen the gene pool. This is helped by the fact that they are not territorial so will happily overlap and share resources with another family group.
Buffalo v bison: predators
As a mainly domesticated animal, water buffalos do not have natural predators, although the few truly wild ones living in India can be attacked by tigers.
African buffalos are a favourite prey of lions as the large carcass will more than adequately feed the whole pride. Smaller big cats, hyenas and African wild dogs will only pick off calves or sick animals, as will Nile crocodiles, even though they are capable of killing a fully grown adult.
Wolf packs predate on the young and weak in an American bison herd but they need to be strong and agile because a bison charge is formidable. In certain parts of the US grizzly bears will bring down a bison, although, like the wolves, they tend to go for the weaker animals.
European bison herds are well protected as valuable modifiers of an ecosystem, and because they are just about the largest mammals living in Europe they have no natural predators apart from very rare occasions where a wolf pack might take a calf.
Buffalo v bison: more fascinating facts
Water buffalo milk is far richer in fats, protein, minerals and calcium, and lower in cholesterol, than the milk of dairy cows. In places such as India and Egypt it is drunk widely.
If an African buffalo calf is threatened by a predator the entire herd, not just its mother, will come to its aid. The animals will surround the aggressor, mobbing it until they chase it off or, occasionally, trample it to death.
African buffalos are some of the most dangerous animals on the African continent as they kill more than 200 people a year. They are particularly feared by big game hunters as there are accounts of wounded buffalos actively stalking and killing their attackers.
The shaggy coats of American bison attract biting insects and they have various modes of defence – rolling in damp or dusty hollows and rubbing their horns against trees with aromatic resin, such as cedars and pines, to bruise them and release the pungent smell seem to be favoured methods.
Most European bison are found in Poland and Belarus, where they are considered one of their national animals. They are better jumpers than American bison, reflecting the difference between living on a plain and living in the mountains.
