Return to my Biology pages
Go to my home page
© Copyright 2000, Jim Loy
One of my favorite sports team names was the Buffalo Bisons, who used to be in the American Hockey League. It is well known that the bison, while popularly called a buffalo, is not a buffalo. There are no buffalo in the Western Hemisphere (except in zoos). A typical buffalo is the Water Buffalo of Southeast Asia, both domesiticated and wild. The Cape Buffalo of Africa, considered by some the most dangerous of big game, is another buffalo.
The bison is related to the buffalo, as are all cattle. They once roamed the American plains in herds of millions. They are now somewhat close to extinction (one of the good examples of the wastefulness of modern society), living in parks and preserves. There is also a species of bison in northern Europe, in Russia in particular.