Don’t mistake park’s largest mammals for Asian/African cousins
By Rose Neville, Ouabache Naturalist
Last year, when I was a main gate attendant, one of the most popular questions I was asked was “Where’s the buffalo at?”
I was tempted to say, “In the continents of Asia or Africa,” but I restrained myself and described to them how to get to the bison enclosure.
Despite the scientific name for the American Bison being Bison bison, the words buffalo and bison have been used interchangeably over the past several hundred years to describe the same large mammal. It’s easy to make this mistake when there’s a Buffalo, New York, and the buffalo nickel. The famous American folk song “Home on the Range” also makes this mistake with the lyric “Where the buffalo roam.”
There are several theories on how the name “buffalo” became synonymous with the American bison.
The first theory alludes to the location in which buffalo are native to – Southeast Asia. When the first European explorers arrived here, they thought they were landing in India. Water buffalo are indigenous to India, so when they saw the American bison, in their minds it most likely resembled the buffalo they would have seen if they had landed in India.
The second theory involves French pioneers moving West across the Great Plains.
In this area of the country, there was little vegetation, so the French pioneers relied heavily on the bison for meals. Bison are bovine the same as cattle, and bison meat tastes very similar to beef. The French word for beef is “boeuf.” The correct pronunciation sounds very similar to buff, so henceforth buffalo. To give credit to this theory, a bison’s beard and the hair on their forelegs are called “pantaloons,” from a French word for baggy trousers.
The final theory goes back to the Shakespearian era. The military coats during this time were made from a light-colored hide that looks very similar to bison hides. The military coats were called buff coats.
At Ouabache, we have bison. The American bison is native to only North America, while the water buffalo is indigenous to Southeast Asia and Cape Buffalo are native to parts of Africa.
Although both animals are part of the Bovidae family, there are key differences in their appearance.
Their horns are a major difference. Bison horns are shorter and stick up to a point, similar in appearance to Viking horns.
Cape buffalo horns look like a handlebar mustache, and water buffalo horns curve in a crescent shape.
Their hides also differ greatly. Bison hides are a dark brown, while buffalo hides are black or a gray. Bison are very adaptable animals and can survive temperatures as low as -40 degrees, so their hides must be versatile. Their winter coats are thick with coarse guard hairs that protect against the wind. They will shed this fur every spring. The buffalo are from much warmer climates, so their coats are much thinner and sleeker.
Bison also have distinctive humps between the shoulders that allow them to swing their much larger heads. Bison also have iconic beards that help to insulate them in the wintertime.
Come see our bison. See if you can see the differences I mentioned. There is a trail that follows the enclosure to allow you to enjoy our herd up close.
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