American Bison and Buffalo Hunting Guides and Outfitters – Trips and Hunts

Buffalo is the common name of several kinds of large wild oxen. The name was first given to the black water buffalo of India. This large animal was named because it likes to soak itself in pools of water for hours at a time. In its wild state the water buffalo can be dangerous. People tame the buffalo and now use it as a beast of burden in most of the warmer parts of Asia and Africa. A small Philippine variety of domestic water buffalo is the carabao.

A small black wild buffalo lives in dense forests on the Philippine island of Mindoro. It is called the tamarau. This buffalo stands only three and a half feet high. Its small horns point up and backward. The anoa, a still smaller forest buffalo, lives on the East Indian island of Celebes. Its color ranges from brownish to black, and it has nearly straight horns.

Wild buffaloes also live in Africa. The Cape buffalo of South Africa is a large, black animal with nearly as bad a temper as that of the Indian buffalo. It resembles the Indian buffalo in many of its habits, but has never been tamed. Cape buffalo have horns only about half as long as those of the Indian buffalo, and different in shape. Where the horns grow out of the forehead, they enlarge and join together to form a sort of helmet. Another wild buffalo, related to the Cape buffalo, lives in the forested regions of western and central Africa. One form of this wild buffalo lives in the Congo region. Like the tamarau, it stands only 3 ½ feet high.

American Buffalo, or Bison: Most Americans know this large wild big game animal simply as “buffalo”. Although many hunting guides and outfitters would disagree, zoologists do not consider it a true buffalo. They call it a bison. Unlike the buffaloes already described, it has a large head and neck and humped shoulders. It also has 14 pairs of ribs, instead of the 13 of true buffaloes.

The American bison, or “buffalo”, is brownish-black, except on the hind part of the body, which is brown. Long, coarse hair covers the head, neck, and hump. The hair forms a beard on the throat and chin. The head has a pair of horns like those of domestic cattle, but larger. Some pairs of horns spread 35 inches at their wildest point. These are what hunters plan trips and guided hunts for as they are a trophy that most other hunters don’t have. Let’s face it, most sportsmen out there don’t plan this type of trip or hunt for this big game animal. A full-grown bull measures from 10 to 12 ½ feet long, from the tip of its nose to the end of its short, tufted tail. Its height at the shoulders measures 2,000 pounds. Some extremely large ones may weigh as much as 3,000 pounds. The female bison, or cow, is much smaller than the bull. It rarely weighs more than 900 pounds.

Bison are sociable animals, and live in herds. The bulls and the cows graze together throughout the year. The single yellowish-red calf is born in May or June. The bull that leads the herd helps mother cows defend their calves from enemies and will charge hunters if they get to close.

Bison mate when they are three years old, but do not become full-grown for another five years. In rare cases they may live to be 30 or even 40 years old. Because of their quick tempers, it has not been possible to train them in captivity.

Bison feed mostly on grass. They also eat a few other small plants, as well as twigs of willows and low shrubs. Some animal breeders have tried to develop a hardy, useful kind of domestic animal by crossing American bison with ordinary domestic cattle. The cattaloes which result have not proved satisfactory.

A cousin of the American bison, called the wisents remain in captivity. The wisent’s head is smaller and carried higher than that of the American bison.

Protection of the American Bison / Buffalo

General Information on the American Bison / Buffalo

Scientific Classification: Buffaloes and bison belong to the family Bovidae. They are in the subfamily Bovinae. The water buffalo in India is genus Bubalus, species bubalis. The Cape buffalo of Africa is Caffer caffer, while the Congo variety is C. nanus. The American bison is classified as genus Bison, species bison. The European bison is Bison bonasus.

Tips for Bison / Buffalo Hunting {American Bison}