Generally, however, buffaloes are to be seen in zoos, and if you go to look at them you will most likely think that the male looks rather like a very big lion. For it has an enormous mane of long, shaggy hair, which covers the head and shoulders. There is also a sort of long beard under the chin, and the hair of the sides and hind quarters is very thick. The consequence is that the animal looks a great deal bigger than it really is, although it stands well over five feet high at the shoulders.

In spite of its great mass of hair, this is a very active animal, and it can both trot and gallop with considerable speed. When galloping it always holds its head close to the ground, and its tail high up in the air. It is not by any means a courageous animal, notwithstanding its size and strength. But the bulls fight most savagely with one another, roaring so loudly that in the days of the great herds the noise was compared to thunder, and could be heard for miles.

Another kind of bison, called the aurochs, lives in the great forests of Northern Europe. Its mane is not so long and thick as that of the American animal, but its horns are longer and not so strongly curved.

The Cape Buffalo

Smaller than the bison, but very much more formidable, is the cape buffalo, which is spread over almost the whole of Africa south of the equator. It is about as big as an ordinary bullock, and has a pair of massive and sharply pointed curved horns, which are sometimes as much as three feet in length.

This animal lives in reedy swamps, and is generally found in herds, which often number from 250 to 300 individuals. They are very wary, and difficult to approach, while they are so swift of foot that only a very fast horse can escape from them when carrying a rider on its back. In charging they throw their heads back, with the horns upon the shoulders, and then suddenly bend down and strike upward when they come within reach.

The buffalo does not usually attack unless it is wounded, however, though solitaries will often lie in concealment and rush out upon the hunter as he passes by.

The Indian Buffalo

There is another kind of buffalo found in India, which is a very different animal in every way. It is different in appearance, for it has its head drawn out into a kind of muzzle, while its horns are very long indeed, and taper gradually from base to tip, at the same time curving outward and upward and backward. And it is different in disposition, because it is easily tamed, and is employed in many parts of India as a beast of draught and burden. You might see buffaloes drawing a plow, for example, or dragging a cart, and for these and similar purposes they have been introduced into Egypt, and even into Southern Europe. The wild bulls, however, are apt to be very savage when they live alone. But a herd of buffaloes, strange to say, though they will gallop up close, and toss their heads, and behave in a most threatening manner, seem never to actually attack a man so long as he has the courage to stand perfectly still.

The Musk-Ox