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Where do bovids live around the world?
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bovid
American bison, or plains buffalo (Bison bison).
Bovids are a diverse and widespread family of hoofed mammals that occupy virtually every terrestrial habitat available to herbivores across Africa, Eurasia, and North America. Their range spans extreme biomes, from equatorial rainforests to the Arctic tundra.1
While wild bovids are native to these continents, their distribution varies significantly by region:
- Africa: This continent serves as a primary refuge for bovid diversity, hosting 75 species, the vast majority of which are antelopes.2
- Eurasia: Bovid diversity here is primarily represented by sheep, goats, and goat antelopes, with fewer antelope species than in Africa.2
- North America: Native wild bovids include species such as the bison and musk ox, though the continent lacks native antelope species.21
Due to human domestication and agricultural expansion, livestock—specifically cattle, sheep, and goats—now inhabit every continent except Antarctica, often displacing wild populations.1