what is bison
debdoll. Bison is the proper name for the largest mammal in North America, commonly known as the American Buffalo. A completely unrelated mammal, the buffalo, is found only in Africa and southeast Asia.Those animals are known as Cape Buffalo, in Africa, and the water buffalo in southeast Asia.ecause bison in America resembled the buffalo of the old world, explorers also called them buffalo. Actually, the word buffalo is believed to have been used by English settlers.