What Is a Group of Buffalo Called?

Gang is the most commonly used collective noun for a group of buffalo, showing up across nature writing and wildlife references alike. Herd is the plain, functional term, the same word used for almost any group of grazing hoofed mammals, while obstinacy is the standout: a specific, evocative word built to capture the buffalo’s reputation for refusing to budge.

Where Did the Name Come From?

Herd is the oldest and plainest of the three, an old, general-purpose word for grazing animals that predates buffalo-specific vocabulary entirely. Gang has a similarly practical, working feel, the kind of straightforward descriptive term naturalists reached for when cataloguing animals that move and act together as a unit. Obstinacy stands apart: it reads less like inherited hunting shorthand and more like a vivid, purpose-built coinage, invented specifically to capture the buffalo’s stubborn, ground-holding reputation, whether that’s a bison herd refusing to scatter on the plains or a Cape buffalo standing firm against a threat.

Buffalo Facts

• Naming overlap: In North America, “buffalo” is commonly used for the American bison, even though true buffalo, Africa’s Cape buffalo and Asia’s water buffalo, are a separate and unrelated group of species.
• Herd size: American bison once roamed the Great Plains in herds numbering in the tens of millions before 19th-century hunting nearly wiped them out; Cape buffalo herds today can still number in the hundreds.
• Size: A mature American bison bull can weigh close to 2,000 pounds (900 kg), while a Cape buffalo bull typically weighs 1,100-1,900 pounds (500-850 kg).
• Habitat: American bison graze open grasslands and prairies, Cape buffalo favor African savannas and woodlands near water, and water buffalo are native to South and Southeast Asian wetlands.
• Diet: All are grazers, spending much of the day feeding on grasses and other vegetation.
• Reputation: Cape buffalo are counted among Africa’s “Big Five” and are considered one of the continent’s most dangerous animals to encounter on foot, known for unpredictable, highly defensive behavior, especially when a herd member is threatened.

Example Sentences

• A gang of buffalo grazed slowly across the open plain as the sun began to set.
• The guide warned that an obstinacy of buffalo blocking the trail wasn’t about to move for anyone.

Other Names for a Group of Buffalo

Gang and herd are used more or less interchangeably in everyday writing, with herd doing double duty as the generic term for almost any hoofed grazing animal. Obstinacy is the true specialist of the three: less common in casual conversation, but the word nature writers and collective-noun lists reach for when they want to capture the animal’s famously immovable temperament in a single term.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a group of buffalo called?

Most often a gang, though herd and the more vivid obstinacy are also correct and widely used.

Is a buffalo the same animal as an American bison?

Not exactly. In the United States, buffalo is commonly used as another name for the American bison, but true buffalo, Africa’s Cape buffalo and Asia’s water buffalo, are a separate group of species.

Why is a group of buffalo called an obstinacy?

It’s a vivid, evocative term that plays on the animal’s reputation for stubbornly holding its ground, rather than an old hunting-era word.

Are buffalo dangerous in a group?

Cape buffalo in particular are considered one of Africa’s most dangerous animals, known for defending herd members aggressively and unpredictably when threatened.

How large can a buffalo herd get?

Historically, American bison herds on the Great Plains numbered in the tens of millions; modern herds are far smaller, while Cape buffalo herds can still reach several hundred animals.