an ambiguous term which has been well described/clarified by an FAO book (1977) with a foreword by W. Ross Cockrill, who is an expert on the water-buffalo.
When reference is made to buffaloes, it may be to several different animal species, all of which are called buffaloes. The big-game hunter, for example, may be describing experiences with the ferocious African buffalo; or a North American may be talking of the days of Buffalo Bill and of the vast herds of American bison; but a traveller from the Far East would, undoubtedly, be praising the virtues of the Asian water buffaloes.
The same book explains that within the order of ruminant animals the family Bovidae comprises, besides the tribes of sheep, goats, and antelopes, that of the Bovini. This tribe, in its turn, is divided into three groups: Bovina, (domestic) cattle; Syncerina, the African buffaloes; and Bubalina, the Asian water-buffaloes.
The Bovina group embraces Bos, domestic cattle; Poëphagus, the yak; Bibox, the banteng, the gaur, and the kouprey; Bison, the American bison, Bison bison; and the European bison, Bison bonasus. The Syncerina group comprises the African buffaloes, of which the Cape buffalo, Syncerus caffer caffer, requires mention here, since it constituted a large piece of game, much of which would be turned into biltong.
See also bison and water-buffalo, which two entries deal with the animals which may be called buffalo and retain interest as food.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Roe, F. G. (1972), The North American Buffalo, Newton Abbot: David & Charles.
