The return from extinction Europe's largest mammal. The European Bison

Hi folks welcome back to the channel

in today video we are looking at the European bison, below is the transcript of the amazing facts and also some links to Fota wildlife park and to my other videos, hope you enjoy

https://www.fotawildlife.ie/

playlist to fota wildlife park videos
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8eurKllcScPArmrFOib6VEyeETUnkiCN

playlist to short videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_O6aYHRTNU&list=PL8eurKllcScP-FSO6DnFdC2jdG4GtqIGi





1) The European Bison, also called the 'Wisent', is the largest land mammal of the
continent of Europe.

2) Often confused with the American Bison, the population of the wisents has got
dramatically low in the past few decades, which is mainly because of human
predation. In 1996, IUCN declared this species as 'endangered'.

3) The European bison (Bison bonasus) is a herbivore mammal that
primarily preys on leaves, stems, flowers, wood, and bark. The
bisons found in the Bialowieza forest are the ancestors of the living
European bison.

4) A survey of 2019 states that there are around 7,500 European bison
found in different parts of Europe, half of the population is found in
Poland and Belarus. Also, there are only 11 and 10 bisons left in
Hungary and Austria respectively which is a matter of concern. A
small population of the species was reintroduced in the Altai
Mountains of East Asia in 1983.

5) The wild bison generally live for around 14-24 years while those living
in captivity can easily live up to 28 years. It is also said that the free
ranging herds cannot live for longer than 16 years.

6) The breeding season generally occurs between July and October
and the bison only mate once a year. The gestation period primarily
lasts for around 250-270 days and cows give birth to only one
offspring or calf. After birth, only female parental care is involved and
the weaving period lasts for more than 10 months. Studies also
reveal that the cow can give birth until 18-20 years of age.
7) Having disappeared from Western Europe in the 11 th century, the last
bison in Romania were killed in Moldova in 1762 and Transylvania in
1790. The last wild European bison in Poland was killed in 1919, and
in the world in 1927 (in the Russian Caucasus) At that point, less
than 50 bison remained in European zoos

8) Once on the brink of extinction with no population in the wild, the European
Bison is now considered Vulnerable on the ICUN's Endangered List. The
estimated 3,200 Bison in existence today are all descendants of 14 individuals,
which creates its own health issues in terms of being prone to illness, but
there are now free-ranging herds in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and
other areas in eastern Europe.

9) Fota wildlife park is a part of the breading programme and have released
European bison in to the forests in the UK, This is the first time that European
bison have been found in the UK IN 6000 Years

10) Ireland never had wild bison