Stumped by this crossword clue? Find the surprising solution!

In this crossword question, the relationship between the words is being compared. The first pair, ‘herd: buffalo,‘ suggests that a herd is a group of buffalo. To find the missing word, we need to identify a similar relationship. The second part of the question, ‘bob : ___ is SEALS,‘ tells us that bob has a similar relationship to seals. When we think about it, bobbing is a term often associated with seals in the water, as they bob their heads in and out. Therefore, the missing word that completes the analogy is ‘bobbing.‘ So, the answer is ‘seals.‘