Bison vs. Buffalo: What Are the Key Differences?

Don’t let this happen to you: You take your family to Yellowstone and point out to your daughter up ahead a large animal. “Look, little Clementine! It’s a buffalo!” But your daughter has been watching a lot of nature documentaries on her iPad and says, “Actually, Dad, it’s a bison.” You pull out your phone for a quick Google, and darn it all, she’s right. Again. And she’s only 6. So you change the subject. “Why don’t we go get some ice cream?” And before you get the words out of your mouth, Clementine is striding off, looking at the park map. “Ok, follow me, Dad.”

Clementine may be a step ahead, but we can help clear up your bison and buffalo confusion so it never trips you up again. This article will explore what differentiates them—from where they live to how they look, behave, and survive—so you’ll never mix them up again.

Where in the World?

The first way to tell bison and buffalo apart is to ask yourself where you’re standing. (Ask Clementine to look at the map and tell you). If you’re in North America or Eastern Europe, you’re probably looking at a bison. If you’re in Africa or South or Southeast Asia, you’ll find yourself a buffalo.

American Bison Range

©Cephas / Wikimedia Commons – Original / License

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Bison once ranged from the Arctic to Mexico and from Nevada to the East Coast. Catastrophic over-hunting in the 19th century drove them nearly to extinction. Today, they are making a comeback in protected national parks in the U.S. and Canada as well as in commercial herds raised for their meat and hides. Yellowstone has a herd of 5,000 that has lived and bred continuously in the region since prehistoric times.

European Bison Range

European bison now live mainly in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus, but they are being reintroduced in many Western European countries as well, including the UK, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Italy, and the Netherlands. Sadly, in 2022, intense fighting in the Zalissia National Nature Park in Ukraine killed all the adult male bison in that herd. Other traumatized herds fled deep into forested areas away from their feeding grounds, and some skipped a year with no bison births to replenish the herd.

Buffalo Range

Buffalo are based in Africa and Asia. The Cape buffalo wanders the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa, where they are one of the most plentiful large mammals in the region. The water buffalo lives in the marshy wetlands of India, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries in southern and Southeast Asia. You’re most likely to see buffalo being used in farming—plowing fields, transporting loads, and producing milk. In fact, they are so useful, there are over 200 million of them on farms around the world. Wild water buffalo are rare now, with only about 2,500 left in isolated pockets of India, Cambodia, and a few other nearby countries.

Appearances Matter

At first glance, they might all look like big, shaggy cows—but there are key differences.

Bison are built for winter. Their most striking feature is a massive shoulder hump, made of muscle and reinforced vertebrae, which helps them shovel snow aside as they forage. They’ve also got big, blocky heads, and from fall through spring, they sport a thick coat with a woolly mane, beard, and dense fur around the shoulders. Buffalo, in contrast, have no shoulder hump and are more evenly built from front to back. Cape buffalo wear a sleek, dark coat that clings to their bodies—a perfect fit for hot climates. Water buffalo have even sparser hair, often exposing gray or bluish skin, especially after a dip in a muddy wallow.

The Horns

Bison have short, curved horns that sweep upward and inward—sharp, but modest. Cape buffalo go big, with horns that can stretch six feet across and fuse at the center of the forehead in mature males to form a helmet-like structure called a boss. Water buffalo turn the drama up even more with enormous horns that curve backward and outward, often over three feet long on each side.

Size Showdown

Bison, Cape buffalo, and water buffalo are all impressively large, but there is some variation in their size and dimensions.

• American bison: Up to 12 feet long, 2,000+ pounds, and 6 feet tall at the hump.

• Cape buffalo: Up to 11 feet long and nearly 2,000 pounds, with a more uniform build.

• Water buffalo: Often the heaviest, at up to 2,600 pounds, though slightly shorter in length.

Following the Herd

Bison and buffalo are social animals, sticking close to their own kind in herds. The size of the herds varies, though. In the past, bison herds on the Great Plains numbered in the thousands, moving across vast distances in search of fresh grazing land. Today, small herds still roam in national parks and wildlife reserves.

Cape buffalo form tight-knit groups—sometimes several hundred strong. That unity helps protect them from lions and other predators. Cape buffalo have a fierce reputation and are considered among the most dangerous animals in Africa. Water buffalo herds are usually smaller, especially when domesticated, though wild herds still form groups of several dozen.

Salad, Anyone?

These animals are all herbivores, but their diets depend on location. Bison graze across prairies and open fields, chewing through tough grasses, sedges, and wildflowers. Even under snow, they dig to uncover forage—reshaping the land and helping native plant diversity thrive. Water buffalo specialize in swampy, wet environments. Their wide muzzles are perfect for scooping up aquatic plants, lush grasses, and reeds. Cape buffalo mostly eat dry grass from the savanna, but can shift to shrubs and leaves when food is scarce. They’re not picky, just persistent.

Living the Good Life

Life expectancy varies a bit depending on the species and whether the animal is wild or cared for by humans.

• American bison: 15–20 years in the wild, often longer in captivity.

• European bison: Similar lifespan, but far fewer wild individuals.

• Cape buffalo: Typically 18–20 years if they avoid predators and disease.

• Water buffalo: Up to 25+ years when domesticated; slightly less in the wild.

The Wild Ones

Water buffalo have been domesticated for thousands of years across Asia. They’ve helped farmers plow fields, carried loads, and even provided rich, fatty milk. Bison, however, are not so cooperative. While ranchers in North America raise them for meat, they’ve never truly been domesticated. Bison retain a strong, wild spirit and can be aggressive or unpredictable. Cape buffalo? Absolutely, unquestionably untamable. Their infamous temper and tendency to charge make them among the most dangerous and least domesticated animals in Africa.

Wait, What Was Your Name Again?

So why do Americans keep calling bison “buffalo”? Blame early explorers. When European settlers first encountered bison on the Great Plains, they reached for the closest familiar term: buffalo. They may have heard stories of African buffalo and figured this looked similar enough. The name stuck. “Buffalo” became so popular that it found its way into songs like Home on the Range, town names, and even sports teams. But make no mistake—scientifically, those shaggy beasts in North America are bison, not buffalo.

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