Who wins: North American Bison vs. Cape Buffalo

[1031]

Pick your winner and how you see it going down.
The terrain is relatively flat and not too much goin on there besides brush, shrubs and tall grass.

The plains bison typically stands between 152-186 cm at the shoulder with the head hanging lower
between 2-3.5 m long sans tail
and weighs between 318 kg (female) - 1000 kg (male)
they have 2 toes per foot.

The cape buffalo stands between 100 -170 cm at the shoulder with the head more vertically mobile.
1.7- 3.4 m long sans tail
weighs 500 (female) - 1000 kg
it has 2 toes per foot.

 

[1031]

Do I need to add pictures here?

 

[Robbie Hart]

Do I need to add pictures here?

Yes, please

 

[member 3289]

I said buffalo because of the horns

 

[1031]

I said buffalo because of the horns

I say bison because of it's skull thickness and position

 

[Robbie Hart]

Cape buffalo wins with those horns.......but would live to see the fight as that's why the play the game.......

 

[1031]

Cape buffalo wins with those horns.......but would live to see the fight as that's why the play the game.......

The bison's skull is set low enough that he just comes up and under those horns, the lower the buffalo drops his head, the more his neck is weakened.

 

[Robbie Hart]

The bison's skull is set low enough that he just comes up and under those horns, the lower the buffalo drops his head, the more his neck is weakened.

Like I said, that's why I'd like to see the fight.

It all looks good on paper......akin to a HW who doesn't know Roy Nelson and thinks "I have the conditioning advantage, strength adv, height adv, etc.......and then you're either laying under his gut or got blitzed with his right hand........

 

[sgotwalks]

Ever since the Great Battle at Kugar I have to say, the water buffalo have all the respect I can muster.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

 

[1031]

Like I said, that's why I'd like to see the fight.

It all looks good on paper......akin to a HW who doesn't know Roy Nelson and thinks "I have the conditioning advantage, strength adv, height adv, etc.......and then you're either laying under his gut or got blitzed with his right hand........

Good point, I think the Buffalo may have the aggression factor to some degree...but when we look at how they both combat in the rut then I think it comes down to the Buffalo being able to take the initial charge and how the Bison deals with the in-fighting after that.

 

[1031]

Ever since the Great Battle at Kugar I have to say, the water buffalo have all the respect I can muster.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

and then there's the douchebag bison from BBC's Frozen Planet.

 

[jason73]

im going to say the buffalo. i watch a lot of hunting shows where they have to go into a village and kill off an aggressive buffalo that is bothering villagers.i have seen bison up close and they are huge but mostly docile.you wouldnt want to get trampled or fuck with a rutting bull but the buffalo seems to be on a whole nother level.

 

[Leigh]

Not sure. Buffalo are pretty aggressive, occasuonally attacking rhinos (unsuccessfully) and are considered one if the big five dangerous game animals in Africa.

But that bison looks built for a scrap. All head, neck and chest.

 

[1031]

im going to say the buffalo. i watch a lot of hunting shows where they have to go into a village and kill off an aggressive buffalo that is bothering villagers.i have seen bison up close and they are huge but mostly docile.you wouldnt want to get trampled or fuck with a rutting bull but the buffalo seems to be on a whole nother level.

fair enough, bison are more chill otherwise but not so much when bulls are fighting each other.

 

[sgotwalks]

I know who doesn't win........the Yak!

 

[1031]

I know who doesn't win........the Yak!

hmmm, yak vs. musk ox???

 

[Leigh]

Goat takes both

 

[Ryann Von Doom]

Bison

 

[Ghost Bro]

Goat takes both

goats are awesome

 

[Qat]

Buffalo, they live somewhere where weakness = death. The bison has no real enemies now do they? Bred for meat..

 

[1031]

Buffalo, they live somewhere where weakness = death. The bison has no real enemies now do they?

Wolves and Grizzly Bears and the Winter Drought/Apocalypse.
I think you're right in that they fend off predators much better but I maintain that styles make fights therefore the quickness of the bison, the distribution of its weight and a skull made for smashing into other bisons will topple even the most surly of buffalo.

 

[BeardOfKnowledge]

The bison has no real enemies now do they?

They share territory with the some of largest apex predators in the world. The fact that brown bears only target calves, and are often run off, is indicative of how dangerous and adult bison is. A wolf pack will put a bison down due to sheer numbers, but even then they pick the small or weak to target.

 

[BeardOfKnowledge]

I had initially selected cape buffalo, but after some further evaluation, I think the bison takes it. Bigger, extremely agile (although you wouldn't think it) They are also incredibly aggressive when threatened, and have great beards.

Bison via glorious facial hair.

 

[1031]

vs

Those horns do look formidable...I think I may change my answer but my reservation is the shape of the buffalo's face and nose compared to that of the bison. In a head to head clash, I see the bison naturally coming in lower and possibly fracturing the buffalo's snout. But that set of horns is very heavy in the centre.
Video evidence suggests hooking the leg is strong tactic for the buffalo when able to get under his opponent's head whereas the bison appears to enjoy using it's heavier head and shoulders and use pressure to turn his rival.
(the buffalo one is shorter because the other videos were crazy montages or featured more tentative specimens. I think minute for minute of actual combat, it's comparable)

 

[1031]

Style points go to the moose, seriously, look at how they turn and reset, I'd give them the nod against a buffalo of similar weight:


Purity of violence goes to the musk ox (although 100% heavier, could the buffalo or bison withstand that impact?):