The name beefalo may not appear to be very original, but this hybrid animal is unique to the United States and has been bred for hundreds of years, often accidentally. The American bison, otherwise known as buffalo, has inhabited the American west for a much longer period of time. Let’s explore the convoluted and interbred history of these two animals today. Compare Beefalo vs Buffalo!
The 5 Main Differences Between a Beefalo and a Buffalo
Beefalo is a hybrid of cattle and buffalo, which is what makes it different from buffalo. As opposed to buffalo, which are mammals native to the Americas, bison are the only species of bovid in the world.
An American bison (bison is another name for standard cattle, as its name implies). The beefalo is the result of combining these two ingredients. It is important to note that beefalo is not the same as a cattle-buffalo cross with a percentage of 50/50 bison and cattle. Beefalo is made up of 3/8ths buffalo and 5/8ths cow.
The buffalo aren’t hybrids; they’re distinct bovid species that have lived in the Americas for some 400,000 years. Few wild populations remain despite almost being wiped out. The domestication of bison also takes place in breeding programs. In order to create the beefalo, the American bison was mixed with other species.
In the following sections, we’ll explore these differences in more detail.
Beefalo vs Buffalo: Genetics
A beefalo is a hybrid between domesticated cattle, such as cattle-breeding cattle, and white bison (or buffalo). In order for a hybrid to be classified as a beefalo, it needs to contain 3/8ths American bison and 5/8ths cattle. Because of this mix, the beefalo has both breeds’ “ideal” characteristics.
In North America, buffaloes are native bovids that have existed for 400,000 years, not hybrids. The cattle of the west were bred with buffalo by the colonists either accidentally or intentionally.
Beefalo vs Buffalo: Appearance
Beefalo look mostly like cattle, despite their cross between two species. It is officially classified as a breed of cattle because of its large, thick body, strong muscles, and short, fine hair.
The buffalo has the appearance of a bovine but has a very large hump on its back, a thick neck, and chap hairs on its cheeks. The horns on their ears are curved and small. They have much larger shoulders and heads than their bodies, which makes them seem more “front weighted” than cows.
Beefalo vs Buffalo: Nutritional differences
Its meat is leaner and less fatty than standard cattle breeds, and beefalo is a decent nutritional mixture of both species.
In addition to being widely consumed, buffalo meat has a low calorie density compared to cattle meat. Basically, there is less fat in it and it has thinner marbling, as well as being softer and more tender than standard cattle.
Beefalo vs Buffalo: Size
There are several large cattle breeds that are comparable to the beefalo. Generally, the size of the offspring is determined by the cattle crosses that are used. The beefalo is generally 900 to 2,000 pounds in weight when born from larger cattle.
It is only after the Asian gaur in weight that buffalo are among the largest bovids on earth. The American bison consists of two subspecies, the woods bison and the plains bison. They weigh between 1,000 and 2,800 pounds, while the plains bison weighs between 700 and 2,000 pounds.
Beefalo vs Buffalo: Populations and breeding programs
In spite of the lack of popularity of the cattle breed, there are still oversights in place. The American Beefalo Association is the US registering body for beefalo, which is a collaboration of most organizations managing the breed.
Domestic buffalo are bred for meat production and live in the wild. United States cattle herds without genetic modifications are limited to four. Approximately 500,000 buffalo are bred for commercial purposes each year on domestic buffalo farms throughout the country.
