# Buffalo vs. Bison **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2001, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-vs-bison/70188 "2001-06-26T06:53:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pezwookiee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@pezwookiee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezwookiee)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-vs-bison/70188/1 "2001-06-26T06:53:21Z")
Buffalo vs. Bison. What’s the difference? (Besides spelling and pronunciation.) ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-vs-bison/70188/2 "2001-06-26T06:54:09Z")
None, if you are speaking of the large shaggy creature once found all across the North American plains. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-vs-bison/70188/3 "2001-06-26T06:57:11Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Gaspode](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gaspode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaspode)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-vs-bison/70188/4 "2001-06-26T07:16:53Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-vs-bison/70188/5 "2001-06-26T16:02:33Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Crude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Crude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Crude)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-vs-bison/70188/6 "2001-06-26T16:35:32Z")
Well, the way I heard it was: Yer can’t wash yer 'ands in a buffalo, mate! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-vs-bison/70188/7 "2001-06-26T17:01:54Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-vs-bison/70188/8 "2001-06-26T17:06:02Z")
It wouldn’t rhyme if you shuffled off to Bison.