European bison

The bison or European bison (Bos bonasus; often also Bison bonasus) is a European cattle species (Bovini). Bison were found in the primeval forests of western, central and southeastern Europe until the early Middle Ages. Their habitat is temperate deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests. Bison are herd animals, but according to their habitat they can only be found in small groups. Typical herds comprise 12 to 20 animals and consist of cows and young animals. Sexually mature bulls only stay with the herds during the rutting season. The outwardly similar American bison (Bos bison) can be crossed with the bison without restrictions.

In Europe, besides the actual bison (Bos bonasus), sometimes also called lowland bison, there was the mountain bison (Bos caucasicus), but it is extinct (sometimes it is considered only as a subspecies of the bison and then called Bos bonasus caucasicus), or has merged into a hybrid with the actual bison. In bison breeding, three breeding lines are distinguished: the lowland line (pure-blooded lowland bison), the lowland Caucasus line (crossbreed of lowland bison and mountain bison) and the highland line (crossbreed of lowland bison and mountain bison with further crossbreeding of American bison). All pure-blooded animals are registered in the World Bison Breeding Book kept in the Białowieża National Park.

In the 1920s, the bison was acutely threatened with extinction; the last free-living bison (a mountain bison) was shot in the Caucasus in 1927. All bison living today are descended from twelve bison kept in zoos and animal enclosures. Low genetic variability is considered one of the major threats to the long-term conservation of the species. After efforts by zoos and private individuals to preserve the species, the first free-ranging herds of bison were reintroduced by reintroduction in 1952 in the area of what is now Białowieża National Park on the Polish-Belarusian border. In 2004, 31 free-ranging populations existed with a total strength of 1955 bison. This corresponds to about 60 percent of the world population. In 2013, an eight-headed herd of bison was reintroduced into the wild in the Rothaar Mountains of North Rhine-Westphalia (see below). This is the first time in half a millennium that bison have lived freely in what is now Germany. The Schutzgemeinschaft Deutsches Wild declared the bison the animal of the year for 2008 and again for 2014.

Distribution

Original distribution

The original distribution of the bison covered a large part of the European continent. In prehistoric and early historic times, its range extended from the north of the Iberian Peninsula across Central Europe and the south of the Scandinavian Peninsula to the Baltic States; from the Bay of Riga, the distribution boundary ran southeastward to the Black Sea and the Caucasus. In the Caucasus, the distribution ranged from sea level to an altitude of 2100 metres. In the south, the distribution probably reached as far as northern Iran in the Holocene (the post-glacial/ modern period), and in Europe as far as Greece and Turkey. In the north, bison reached Finland and the Novgorod region. Raschīd ad-Dīn reports in his historical work, Abaqa, Ilchan of Persia hunted "mountain buffalo" in the mountains near Shahrud in 1275/76, that is, in the Elburs Mountains southeast of the Caspian Sea. This makes an occurrence in historical times as far as the Caspian Sea and Koh-i-Elburz in Afghanistan seem at least conceivable.

The habitat of the bison already began to shrink during the Neolithic period about 6000 years ago. The transition from hunter-gatherer cultures to sedentary farmers, which began in the Neolithic, was accompanied by increasing human use and deforestation. Crops were increasingly grown in clearings and cleared areas, and the forest was used as grazing land for domestic animals. As a result of this increasing cultivation and use of the forests, the bison had already become extinct in large parts of France by the 8th century. On the territory of today's Germany the bison disappeared between the 14th and 16th century. In East Prussia there were still so many bison at the beginning of the 18th century that several bison were made to fight against bears and wolves in the Königsberg Hetztheater on the occasion of the coronation celebrations of Frederick I in January 1701. The last free-living East Prussian bison was killed in 1755 in the Tapiauer forest by a poacher. In Romania, wild bison still existed in the late 18th century.

In the area of present-day Poland, bison were already rare in the 11th century, but remnant populations were able to survive in larger forest areas where they were protected as royal game. The forest of Białowieża was of particular importance for the preservation of the bison. As early as the Middle Ages, this remote region in the border area between present-day Poland and Belarus was a privileged hunting ground of the Polish kings. Bison could only be hunted here with special permission from the Polish ruler. From 1795 the area was under strict protection of the Russian Tsar. The area was used as a hay forest, but poaching was punishable by death and from 1803 logging was prohibited in large parts of the forest. From 1832 until the end of the First World War the bison population was counted annually. It reached its maximum in 1857 with 1900 bisons. After that, two epizootics in 1890 and 1910 caused a decline in the population. At the beginning of 1915 there were still about 770 bison living in the area. In autumn 1917 there were only 150 animals left. Immediately after the end of the First World War most of the animals fell victim to marauding soldiers as well as poachers. Remains of a poached bison and tracks of four other animals were found for the last time on April 4, 1919. However, since during the 19th century bison had been repeatedly captured from bison herds in this area and given to zoos and enclosures, it was possible to fall back on these descendants of Białowieża bison when efforts to preserve the species began in the 1920s. The so-called Pleß line, for example, goes back to a bull and four cows that were donated to the Prince of Pleß in 1865 and used for breeding in the Pleß forests for several decades. The bull Plisch with the studbook number 229, which was brought back from Pleß to Białowieża in 1936, is of great importance in today's conservation breeding. Almost all bison currently living in the Białowieża Forest are descended from him.

Already in the 17th century it was known in Central Europe that there were also bison populations in Caucasia. It was not until the 19th century that naturalists such as Alexander von Nordmann and Gustav Radde collected more details about the wild cattle living there during their research trips. The distribution area of the Caucasus bison was the northern slope of the Caucasus massif as well as its foothills. On the southern side of the mountains bison occurred only in the west to about the border of Abkhazia. In the 19th century, about 2000 individuals of the Caucasian bison still lived. Due to the Great Caucasian War and increasing human settlement in the area of distribution, the population declined more and more. In the 1890s, there were only 442 Caucasian bison left, which were placed under protection by the Russian Tsar. After an epizootic was additionally introduced by domestic cattle in 1919, the number of animals decreased to 50 individuals. The last free-living Caucasian bison was killed in 1927. However, a bull of this species named Caucasus and studbook number 100 played a significant role in the conservation breeding of bison. He was crossed with lowland bison, thus establishing the lowland Caucasus line.

Current distribution

Re-introductions of bison took place in 1952 in the Polish part and in 1953 in the Belarusian part of Białowieża. In 2004, 29 free and two semi-free populations lived in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Lithuania and Slovakia. Since the 1980s, a small population of the lowland bison has also been living again in the Altai Mountains of Russia, but it is increasingly suffering from inbreeding.

Wildlife reintroduction projects

Caucasus 1940

In June 1940, five bison of a Caucasian hybrid line bred in the Soviet Union (B. b. bonasus × B. b. caucasicus × B. bison) were reintroduced in the Western Caucasus. By 1985, these bison hybrids had reclaimed 140,000 hectares of mountain forests and alpine meadows. With almost 1400 animals the population of the Kavkazsky reserve in the northern West Caucasus developed into the largest bison population worldwide. Due to the turmoil of the dissolution of the Soviet Union the population of 1400 animals decreased to 240 animals. The Caucasus Nature Reserve, which covers almost 300,000 hectares, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. The number of bison living in the wild in the highlands increased by around ten percent to 540 in 2010.

Release in the Chernobyl exclusion zone as of 1998

After it was noticed that other wild animals were reproducing in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, it was decided from 1998 to release bison there as well. After initial difficulties, there are now three herds with a total of 93 animals (as of 2012) of the lowland line in the Belarusian part of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which are slowly reproducing.

Release into the wild in Slovakia 2004

On 10 December 2004, five bison, three cows and two bulls, were released into the wild in the Slovakian Poloniny National Park as part of the Large Herbivore Network project. Two weeks later, a wild bull from the directly adjacent Polish Bieszczady National Park joined the herd. (Both national parks together with the Ukrainian Usch National Park form the Eastern Carpathians Biosphere Reserve). In October 2005 another cow and a bull were released, and in September 2006 two cows. The first outdoor birth of a bison calf took place on 14 July 2006. The number of bison has grown over the years to 17, consisting of a 15-strong herd and two solitary bulls (as of 2013).

Release in Romania 2012

On 22 March 2012, five bison were released into the wild in the Vânători-Neamț Nature Park in north-eastern Romania (Neamț County) as part of the Rewilding Europe project. Another five animals were released in 2013.

Release in Germany 2013

With the project bison in the Rothaargebirge, a herd of eight, consisting of a bull, five cows and two young animals, was released in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein on 11 April 2013. In December 2019, the herd had grown to about 25 animals. The herd had been living on site in an 80-acre reintroduction enclosure since March 2010. Among the scientific and legal requirements for the reintroduction, the fulfilment of which was checked during this time, was that a natural escape behaviour and a natural escape distance had to be achieved. At the end of December 2012, the State Ministry of the Environment in Düsseldorf then granted permission for the release into the wild. The herd was equipped with GPS transmitters for a transitional period of two to five years. All the animals in the herd belong to the lowland Caucasian lineage.

In May and June 2013, the first two bison in centuries were born in the wild in this herd in Germany. The herd stays less hidden than expected and was observed by hikers several times already in the first weeks after the release. In 2017, the bison were filmed crossing a snow-covered road. In December 2017, there was a collision with minor fender bender. In 2019, a compromise was reached with the forest owners. A fence that is permeable to other animals will initially limit the herd's habitat to an area of 1500 hectares for three to five years.

The number of bison living freely in Germany is currently 25 (as of December 2019) after further births and departures.

Apart from the Rothaargebirge, bison are currently being accustomed to life under near-natural conditions in the wilderness core zone of the Döberitzer Heide. In the wilderness core zone, which covers an area of about 2000 ha, the animals are supposed to live under near-wild conditions. However, the animals are widely fenced there.

Discussed further reintroduction projects

Swiss conservationists and zoologists led by Christian Stauffer, former head of the Zurich Wilderness Park, are discussing the reintroduction of bison in the Jura, or more precisely in the Thal Nature Park - where and in the vicinity of which lies one of Switzerland's largest contiguous forest areas, namely the northern slope of the Weissenstein range. The region itself hopes that this will attract more tourists. In June 2020, it was announced that a site near Sollmatt in Welschenrohr had been selected for this project. The main criterion was that the area should be as large as possible and belong to as few landowners as possible. Initially, five to ten animals will live in a 1 km² enclosure with both open and wooded zones for acclimatisation until they are released. The lead cow will be fitted with a transmitter collar; the fencing will be permeable to deer and other forest animals. Likewise, existing trails will pass through the fenced area.

In some European countries, reintroduction projects of the lowland bison are currently underway or being prepared, for example in the Netherlands (Veluwe and Maashorst), in Denmark (Almindingen on Bornholm) and in France (Monts d'Azur on the edge of the Maritime Alps), as well as in Azerbaijan (Shahdag National Park).

The reintroduction of bison (as well as red deer and wild horses) is also being discussed for the Borkenberge nature reserve near Haltern. This is a former British military training area of about 20 km² in area, with barren sandy soil. It is to be accessible to visitors and can be viewed from observation towers. It is hoped that - in addition to the tourist attraction - the large mammals will prevent the complete scrub encroachment of the landscape and restore a natural species composition.

In 2017, WWF Germany proposed ten areas that are particularly suitable as a habitat for bison as part of a study. The four most important of these are the Spreewald and its surroundings, the Müritz, the Harz and the Pfälzerwald. It is still open whether the animals will be deliberately resettled there or whether one will simply wait until they migrate again from the east.

In 2021, it was announced that bison would also be reintroduced to the Härtsfeld, a region of the Swabian Alb, on 35 ha of the Zwing nature reserve near Neresheim.

Immigration to Germany 2017

On 13 September 2017, for the first time since the extinction of the species in Germany, a bison migrated from Poland across the Oder River. The wild animal was pursued and shot two hours after its discovery on an embankment near Lebus in the floodplain by two local hunters, after they had obtained a telephone order to shoot it from the district director of Lebus under the pretext of an alleged immediate danger to life and limb. The head was cut off as a hunting trophy and taken to a taxidermist the following day. The bull had previously roamed western Poland for several years without an accident. Several private persons and associations - among others the WWF - filed criminal charges against the persons involved due to an alleged violation of the Federal Hunting Act. The investigation against the head of the public order office was discontinued in June 2018.

Representation of bison from the Upper Paleolithic in the Spanish cave of Altamira


Free-living bison near Almert


Bison near Schmallenberg-Almert


Bison in a breeding station of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the Russian Altai Mountains (Republic of Altai)


Location of the Siegen-Wittgenstein district in Germany (dark red)


Bison in Romania


Distribution of the bison: Year-round occurrence Compiled by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) 2020


Historical distribution of Eurasian forms; distribution of bison up to the High Middle Ages in dark green, relict population in the 20th and 21st century in red; light green the early Holocene distribution of Eurasian bison (wisent and steppe bison) from the early post-glacial period to antiquity.

Habitat

The bison's preferred habitat is open and semi-open grazing areas, which it can also create itself from the point of view of the megaherbivore hypothesis. Extensive forests, in which the bison last occurred before its extinction in the wild, represent only a substitute habitat. Where bison live in forests, they prefer deciduous and mixed forests with a distinct mosaic of differently dense vegetation structures. Pure coniferous forests are rarely visited, but mixed forests are preferred over pure deciduous forests. Bison show a preference for alder swamps. In the Białowieża forest, which is not only home to the oldest free-living herds of bison, but is also the most pristine forest area in Central Europe and the least influenced by humans, dead trees make up about 20 percent of the total wood mass. As a result, the forest is significantly thinner than Central European commercial forests. Accordingly, a denser herb layer can develop. The seasonal variation in the development of the herb layer in Białowieża shapes the use behaviour of the animals: in spring, for example, bison spend most of their time in deciduous forests, where the herb layer develops earliest. From the end of May, they prefer to use fresh mixed forests, where the herb layer develops later and is in full bloom in June and July. The territory size of a group of bison is about 4600 to 5600 hectares. However, the territories of individual groups can overlap to a large extent. The bison is very tolerant of boreal climates, and it is thought that the northern limit of its distribution during modern times was primarily due to anthropogenic influences. A herd that has been living in the Vologda oblast at about 60°N since the 1990s manages without winter feeding at all.

Bison in the Stralsund Zoo, 2004