BUFFALO INFO 
Bison, hoofed mammals of the cattle family (Bovidae), classified by mammalogists in to 2 species, European Bison ( Bison bonasus ) also known as Wisent, and the American Bison ( Bison bison ). Although the latter species has been split into 2 subspecies, the Prairie Bison and the Wood Bison, a critical reexamination of the evidence provides no taxonomic evidence that these subspecies are valid.
The North American species, better known as Buffalo, has short, black, curved horns; a beard, shoulder hump, short tail; and long, shaggy, woolly hair on the shoulders, 4 legs, head and throat. Bulls attain adult size at 6-8 years; cows, at approximately 4 years. Bison can live in excess of 20 years.
Bison are large hoofed mammal, genus Bison, of the cattle family. Bison have short horns and humped, heavily mantled shoulders that slope downward to the hindquarters. The European Bison, or Wisent, Bison bonasus, has a less luxuriant mane and beard than the American species. The Bison is characterized by a huge, low-slung head and massive hump; its legs are shorter than those of the Wisent. Males may reach a shoulder height of over 5 ft (1.5 m), a body length of 9 ft (2.7 m), and a weight of 2,500 lb (1,130 kg). The winter coat of the American Bison is dark brown and shaggy; it is shed in spring and replaced by a coat of short, light-brown fur. Bison graze on prairie grasses, migrating south in search of food in the winter. They formerly roamed in vast herds over much of North America, especially on the Great Plains, and were hunted by Native Americans for their flesh and hides. With the arrival of European settlers they were subjected to a wholesale slaughter that resulted in their near extinction. They were killed for their tongues, regarded as a delicacy, and shot for sport from trains. At the beginning of the 19th century there were over 60 million Bison in North America. By the middle of the century the Bison was extinct E of the Mississippi, and by 1900 there remained only two wild herds in North America, one of plains Bison in Yellowstone Park, and one of the larger variety, called Wood Bison, in Canada. Protective laws were passed beginning at the end of the last century, and the Bison population has since risen from a few hundred to over 20,000. The wood Bison may have vanished as a distinct race through hybridization with the plains Bison. Bison are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.
Buffalo is the name commonly applied to the American Bison but correctly restricted to certain related African and Asian mammals of the cattle family. The Water Buffalo, or Indian Buffalo, Bubalus bubalis, is found in southern Asia. It is a large, extremely strong, dark gray animal, standing nearly 6 ft (180 cm) at the shoulder and weighing up to 2,000 lb (900 kg). Its widely spread horns curve out and back in a semicircle and may reach a length of 6 ft (180 cm). For many centuries it has been domesticated as a draft animal, but wild forms still exist in Borneo and herds descended from domesticated animals live in a wild state elsewhere. Water Buffalo live in swampy areas and near rivers, where they wallow in the mud. Wild Water Buffalo are extremely fierce and have been known to kill fully grown tigers. The domestic forms are somewhat more docile. They are used throughout southern Asia to pull plows and carts; they are of little importance as dairy animals, as their milk is scant. Their diet consists chiefly of grass.
The anoa, Anoa depressicornus, also called Dwarf Buffalo or Wood Buffalo, is the smallest of the Buffalo, standing only 40 in. (100 cm) high at the shoulder; it is found in the Celebes. Its slightly larger relative, the tamarou, Anoa mindorensis, is found in the Mindoro region of the Philippines. Both are forest dwellers. The large, fierce Cape Buffalo is found in Africa.
Huge herds of Bison grazed the prairies and, by their somewhat unpredictable movements, offered periods of feast or famine for their predators. Bulls and cows were segregated; bulls were less mobile, congregating on choice feeding areas, and were more likely to stand against predators. Herds were food for wolves, plains grizzlies and scavengers, as well as for Plains Indians and Métis. They also fed white settlers in the 19th century.
The Bison's excellent meat and superb hide, combined with its winter hardiness and unequalled ability to exist and even gain weight on poor forage, prompted attempts at domestication and cross-breeding with cattle. Male "cattalo" were found to be sterile, but females make excellent, long-lived, breeding stock. Experimental work on cattalo was unsuccessful, because of male sterility and market requirements for fatter meats, not to mention that fact that these critters were down-right ugly.
Today, leaner meat is increasing in popularity, and interest in Buffalo ranching has increased.