buffalo or bison

Factual Questions
1

Why isn’t a bison a buffalo?What are the requirements to get into this particular animal class?

A water buffalo looks sorta like those oxen that pull loads in different countries.Are they buffalo?

A long horn steer looks like a slimmed down version.Is he a buffalo?

And if the bison isn’t a buffalo-what is unique to their place in the cattle type animal world?

Bonus question=There’s a bullmoose and a cowmoose (or moose cow?)-what’s a cow’s (the things that give milk) animal family name-apart from breeds.

2

Moose are members of the deer family, Cervidae. The moose genus is Alces, and the only species in that genus is A. alces. There are several subspecies.

Bison, buffalo, and domestic cattle are all members of the Bovidae family. Buffalos are of the genera Syncerus (African buffalo), Bubalus (Indian buffalo), or * Anoa* (“dwarf” buffalos). Bison are of the genus Bison. Domesticated cattle are of the genus Bos, as are yaks and gaurs.

3

The difference: yer can’t warsh yer 'ands in a buffalo, mate.

4

The difference: yer can’t warsh yer 'ands in a buffalo, mate.

5

It appears that “bison” originally referred to the big European bovine critters, and “buffalo” the African and Asian critters. (source: OED)

I guess when the Europeans came over, they called them names that were “more familiar,” but IANAAEH (I am not an animal etymology historian.

6

My understanding is that buffalo, all native to the Eastern hemisphere, have horns growing from the tops of their heads and bison, all native to the Western Hemisphere, have horns growing from the sides of their heads.

Buffalo is a common misnomer for the American bison.

[OGDEN NASH]I’ve never seen bison
Soar o’er the horizon,
So what kind of things
are these “buffalo wings”?[/OGDEN NASH]

7

“I guess when the Europeans came over, they called them names that were “more familiar,” but IANAAEH (I am not an animal etymology historian.”

It seems to me that they should have been more familiar with bison than buffalo. The European bison (Bison bonasus) or wisent, which used to roam all over Europe, was still running around loose in parts of Europe in those days wheras AFAIK the only buffalo in Europe at that time were water buffalo in southern Italy.

Bison bonasus isn’t as big as Bison bison but it’s getting there:
Body Length: 290 cm / 9.6 ft.
Shoulder Height: 180-195 cm / 6-6.5 ft.
Tail Length: 80 cm / 2.6 ft.
Weight: 800-1000 kg / 1760-2200 lb.

8

Cap’n Crude, why didn’t you just link to your post in this thread? Buffalo vs. Bison :smiley: