Buffalo vs. Bison. What’s the difference?
(Besides spelling and pronunciation.)
None, if you are speaking of the large shaggy creature once found all across the North American plains.
Now that I think about it, buffalo is the generic term, also applied to certain African animals, like the Cape Buffalo, while bison refers specifically to the American Bison.
Technically buffalo refers to the cape buffalo, water buffalo etc. that belong (or at least belonged until recent revisions) to the genus Bubalus. The Bison (Genus Bisonus) of America/Europe were erroneously termed buffalo by early American explorers for much the same reason American Indians are called Indians. As far as I know the European bison have never been referred to as buffalo.
So basically
buffalo- Genus Bubalis, short sparse hair, sweeping horns, African/Asian.
Bison- Genus Bisonus, longer, thisker hair, small,close held horns, European/American.
I once dug up a curious object in my back yard and called a couple of archaeologists in to take a look at it. They determined that it was a buffalo hoof, and by expanding the dig they determined that it was exactly two hundred years old.
In other words, it was a bison toenail.
Well, the way I heard it was:
Yer can’t wash yer 'ands in a buffalo, mate! :rolleyes:
My understanding of the main difference is that a buffalo’s horns grow out of the top of its head and a bison’s horns grow out of the sides of its head.
It wouldn’t rhyme if you shuffled off to Bison.