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Buffalo are a symbol of the American wilderness—appearing in songs, university mascots, city names, and even in one of the nation's native grasses. Yet the animals that inspire this imagery are not true buffalo but bison, a species that is only distantly related to the African and Asian buffalo that exist on the planet.

True buffalo are native only to Africa and Asia. They belong to the subtribe Bubalina within the Bovidae family—alongside cows, goats, sheep, and antelope. While they share a distant common ancestor with bison, the latter are more closely related to cattle than to real buffalo.

How did the confusion arise? French explorers in the 1600s labeled the North American bison “boeuf sauvage” (wild ox), a term that was later anglicized to “buffalo.” The name “bison” didn’t enter common usage until several decades later, finally giving the species its correct designation.

What are true buffalo?

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The term “true buffalo” encompasses three distinct species in the Bubalina subtribe:

• Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)—native from the Indian subcontinent to the Malay Peninsula. Domesticated ~6,000 years ago for agriculture, they now inhabit every continent except Antarctica. Wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) can reach 10 ft in length and weigh up to 2,600 lb, surpassing most bison in size.
• African buffalo (Syncerus caffer)—four subspecies exist, with the Cape buffalo being the largest. Though only about 5 ft tall, they can weigh nearly 2,000 lb. Together with lions, leopards, elephants, and rhinoceroses, they form Africa’s “big five,” a term that originated with hunters and is now popular among safari tours.
• Anoa—the smallest buffalo, standing just 2.5 ft tall. Two species, the mountain anoa (Bubalus quarlesi) and lowland anoa (Bubalus depressicornis), each have wild populations estimated at roughly 2,500 individuals and are classified as endangered.

There are actually two species of bison

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American bison (Bison bison)—the largest native land mammal in the United States and its official national symbol. Bison have robust bodies, massive heads, and a humped back. They thrive in the colder, drier Great Plains, using a thick winter coat that they shed in summer. Their horns are shorter, sharper, and more upright than those of true buffalo.

For Indigenous peoples, every part of the bison was valuable—from meat and hide to tools fashioned from horns. The arrival of white settlers in the 19th century led to a dramatic decline, with numbers falling from >50 million to <1,000 by the century’s end. Today, conservation programs have restored the population to roughly 30,000 in the wild.

European bison (Bison bonasus)—leaner than its American cousin, with longer legs adapted to forest habitats. Once widespread across Europe, their numbers collapsed after the last Ice Age and further during the 1900s, leaving only zoo populations. Modern breeding initiatives have begun to reestablish a wild population.