If you are an American, when you hear the term buffalo, you likely picture the large shaggy creatures that have a big hump on their necks. They are commonly found in the west, and are especially well-known for living in and around Yellowstone National Park.

While understandable, you would actually be wrong. These creatures are not buffalo at all, but instead are bison. People use these terms interchangeably a lot, but that is incorrect. Buffalo and bison are two distinct creatures that have different appearances, behavior, geographical range, and genetic history.

To put it simply, buffalo are from sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia. Bison, on the other hand, are native to North America and certain parts of Europe.

American bison are only called buffalo because they were mistakenly called this by early explorers who assumed they were the same creatures as buffalo.

Buffalo are a subtribe of wild cattle (Bovini), which includes water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Then there is the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), which also goes by the name of Cape buffalo. These animals are far more aggressive than other types and have never been able to be domesticated.

Bison are wild cattle. There is the American bison (Bison bison) as well as the European bison (Bison bonasus). The American bison is the largest land mammal in North America, and this is what most Americans think of when they hear the term bison (or buffalo).

American bison are broken into two subspecies, the wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) and the Plains bison (Bison bison bison). Wow, scientists need to get a little more creative with their naming.

European bison (Bison bonasus) are similar in some ways to the American bison, but they are generally taller and less stocky. They also have a less shaggy appearance. The European bison once roamed most of the continent, but today they are much less common, living primarily in protected reserves.

If you’ve gone this far, you’ll also want to take a moment to learn about the Beefalo, which is a domesticated hybrid relative of the bison. It is the result of active crossbreeding between American bison and domestic cattle.

Farmers did this in order to get an animal that was calmer and more manageable than a buffalo, but with the same lean, flavorful meat. You may have noticed that its name, Beefalo, adds to the overall confusion since there is not actually any buffalo in them at all.

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