American Bison Buffalo Royalty-Free Stock Image

The American Bison (Bison bison) is a North American species of bison, also commonly known as the American Buffalo. Buffalo is somewhat of a misnomer for this animal, as it is only distantly related to either of the two true buffaloes , the Asian Water Buffalo and the African Buffalo. However, bison is a Greek word meaning ox-like animal, while buffalo originated with the French fur trappers who called these massive beasts boeufs, meaning ox or bullock – so both names, bison and buffalo, have a similar meaning. In reference to this animal, the term buffalo, which dates to 1635, has a much longer history than the term bison, which was first recorded in 1774. The American Bison is more closely related to the Wisent or European Bison.