Beefalo are a fertile hybrid offspring of domestic cattle Bos taurus and the American bison Bison bison (generally called buffalo in the US). The breed was created to combine the characteristics of both animals with a view towards beef production. Beefalo are primarily cattle in genetics and appearance with the breed association defining a full beefalo as one with ⅜ (37.5%) bison genetics while they call animals with higher percentages of bison genetics bison hybrids.