View source for European bison

{{Short description|Eurasian species of mammal}}
{{Redirect|Wisent}}
<!-- Article is concerned with European topics, so please use European (hence British) spelling instead of mixing British and American standards; thank you! -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
| name           = European bison
| fossil_range   = {{fossilrange|Late Pleistocene | recent}}
| image          = European bison (Bison bonasus) male Białowieza.jpg
| image_caption  = A male bison in the process of [[moulting]]
| status         = NT
| status_system  = IUCN3.1
| status_ref     = <ref name= iucn>{{cite iucn|author=Plumb, G.|author2=Kowalczyk, R.|author3=Hernandez-Blanco, J.A.|year=2020|title=Bison bonasus|volume=2020|page=e.T2814A45156279|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T2814A45156279.en|access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus          = Bison
| species        = bonasus
| authority      = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| subdivision_ranks= Subspecies
| subdivision    = *''Bison bonasus bonasus'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
* †''[[Caucasian wisent|Bison bonasus caucasicus]]''
* †''[[Carpathian wisent|Bison bonasus hungarorum]]''
| range_map      = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|from=European bison range.map}}
| range_map_caption= {{leftlegend|#da2a1c|European bison (''Bison bonasus'')}}
| range_map2     = BisonBonasusIUCN.svg
| range_map2_caption= Range of ''B. bonasus'' (Compiled by: IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) 2020) {{leftlegend|#008000|Resident|outline=gray}}
| synonyms       = ''Bos bonasus'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
}}

The '''European bison''' ({{plural form}}: bison) ('''''Bison bonasus''''') or the '''European wood bison''', also known as the '''wisent'''{{efn|Borrowing from the German {{lang|de|Wisent}}. See [[wikt:wisent|wisent]] and [[wikt:Wisent|Wisent]] for etymology.}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|iː|z|ə|n|t}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|iː|z|ə|n|t}}), the '''zubr'''{{efn|A less commonly used name for the European bison in English, borrowed from Polish. Previously also used to refer to one race of the species. See [[wikt:zubr#English|zubr]] and [[wikt:żubr|żubr]] for more info.}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|z|uː|b|ə|r}}), or sometimes colloquially as the '''European buffalo''',{{efn|Used mostly in American sources. Bison are only distantly related to [[true buffalo]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Why Flamingos Are Pink ...and 250 Other Things You Should Know |author=Helterbran, Valeri R. |year=2007 |publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing |page=28 |quote=Bison are not related to true buffalo (Asia's water buffalo and Africa's Cape buffalo) and are only distantly related to the wisent, a European buffalo.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QaeVb8cW7xeJwxC5613OyXCmxKyLfrU1tTeg26-gVufLapEcnMF7aquc7KvO2bfm_L-jnytxYpPw9poHT2dQcaokeswIFlF08SS3SSoaRpI1ReDt46X-noReSDei5SLHwvN6VaH9xThsddhb7O55ZWclzzFzYRvsFFh9E9Jmr4M7EYfrig0v3cTgBP1pyGYigxrI0PB4W6ZPgCgoS67gqcmlv6DP3ExGjnx09Rm0yUC1cFpXGWsNA0Eqw8-SuLh9v7uYqLOK |title=Conservation Note, Issue 12 |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Information |year=1962 |page=1 |accessdate=September 24, 2021 |quote=No doubt you know that the American buffalo is not a buffalo, but a bison. Our buffalo is related to the European buffalo or wisent, not to the hard-working Asian buffalo or the ferocious Cape buffalo of Africa. |archive-date=25 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925174250/https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QaeVb8cW7xeJwxC5613OyXCmxKyLfrU1tTeg26-gVufLapEcnMF7aquc7KvO2bfm_L-jnytxYpPw9poHT2dQcaokeswIFlF08SS3SSoaRpI1ReDt46X-noReSDei5SLHwvN6VaH9xThsddhb7O55ZWclzzFzYRvsFFh9E9Jmr4M7EYfrig0v3cTgBP1pyGYigxrI0PB4W6ZPgCgoS67gqcmlv6DP3ExGjnx09Rm0yUC1cFpXGWsNA0Eqw8-SuLh9v7uYqLOK |url-status=live }}</ref>}} is a European [[species]] of [[bison]]. It is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the [[American bison]]. The European bison is the heaviest wild [[Terrestrial animal|land animal]] in [[Europe]], and individuals in the past may have been even larger than their modern-day descendants. During [[late antiquity]] and the [[Middle Ages]], bison became extinct in much of Europe and [[Asia]], surviving into the 20th century only in northern-central Europe and the northern [[Caucasus Mountains]]. During the early years of the 20th century, bison were hunted to [[Extinct in the wild|extinction in the wild]].

By the late 2010s, the species numbered several thousand and had been returned to the wild by [[captive breeding]] programmes. It is no longer in immediate danger of extinction, but remains absent from most of its historical range. It is not to be confused with the [[aurochs]] (''Bos primigenius''), the extinct ancestor of domestic [[cattle]], with which it once co-existed.

Besides humans, bison have few predators. In the 19th century, there were scattered reports of [[Eurasian wolf|wolves]],  [[Asiatic lions|lions]],  [[Caspian tigers|tigers]], and 
[[Eurasian brown bear|bears]] hunting bison. In the past, especially during the Middle Ages, humans commonly killed bison for their hide and meat. They used their horns to make  [[drinking horn]]s.

European bison were [[Overexploitation|hunted to extinction]] in the wild in the early 20th century, with the last wild animals of the ''B. b. bonasus'' subspecies being shot in the [[Białowieża Forest]] (on today's [[Belarus–Poland border]]) in 1921. The last of the [[Caucasian wisent]] subspecies (''B. b. caucasicus'') was shot in the northwestern Caucasus in 1927.<ref>{{cite web|title = 70 years Wisent in the Caucasian mountains|url = http://www.lhnet.org/history-of-the-disappearance-and-return-wisent-in-the-caucasian-mountains/|website = www.lhnet.org|access-date = 13 August 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150905080818/http://www.lhnet.org/history-of-the-disappearance-and-return-wisent-in-the-caucasian-mountains/|archive-date = 5 September 2015|url-status = dead}}</ref> The [[Carpathian wisent]] (''B. b. hungarorum'') had been hunted to extinction by 1852.

The Białowieża or lowland European bison was kept alive in captivity, and has since been reintroduced into several countries in Europe. In 1996, the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] classified the European bison as an [[Endangered species (IUCN status)|endangered species]], no longer extinct in the wild. Its status has improved since then, changing to [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]] and later to [[Near-threatened species|near-threatened]].

European bison were first scientifically described by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758. Some later descriptions treat the European bison as [[conspecific]] with the American bison. Three subspecies of the European bison existed in the recent past, but only one, the [[nominate subspecies]] (''B. b. bonasus''), survives today. The ancestry and relationships of the wisent to fossil bison species remain controversial and disputed.

The European bison is one of the [[national animal]]s of Poland and Belarus.<ref name= POL>{{cite web|title = Poland|url = https://allaboutbison.com/bison-world-news/europe/poland/|publisher = All About Bison|access-date = 30 November 2019|archive-date = 29 November 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201129204107/https://allaboutbison.com/bison-world-news/europe/poland/|url-status = live}}</ref><ref name= lbn>{{cite AV media|people=Wójcik, Wojciech (director & script); Zielonka, Tomasz (lead)|date=2 November 2019|title=Las bliżej nas – Polskie żubry|trans-title = The Forest Closer to Us – Polish Bison|medium=Documentary|location=Poland|publisher=Telewizja Polska}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The [[ancient Greeks]] and ancient [[Roman people|Roman]]s were the first to name bison as such; the 2nd-century AD authors [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] and [[Oppian]] referred to them as {{Langx|grc-x-hellen|βίσων|translit=bisōn|label=none}}.<ref name= OED>{{Cite dictionary |title=bison, noun |dictionary=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] (OED) |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2011 |orig-year=1989 |url-access= subscription |edition=online 2nd |url=https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/19486 |access-date=11 January 2021}}</ref> Earlier, in the 4th century BC, during the [[Hellenistic period]], [[Aristotle]] referred to bison as {{Langx|grc-x-hellen|βόνασος|translit=bónasos|label=none}}.<ref name= OED/> He also noted that the [[Paeonians]] called it μόναπος (''monapos'').<ref name= Arist>[[Aristotle]] (4th century BC): ''Των περί τα ζώα ιστοριών'' (''History of Animals'']].</ref> [[Claudius Aelianus]], writing in the late 2nd or early 3rd centuries AD, also referred to the species as {{Langx|grc-x-hellen|βόνασος|label=none}}, and both [[Pliny the Elder]]'s [[Natural History (Pliny)|''Natural History'']] and [[Gaius Julius Solinus]] used {{Langx|la|bĭson}} and {{Langx|la|bonāsus|label=none}}.<ref name= OED/> Both [[Martial]] and [[Seneca the Younger]] mention {{Langx|la|bison|label=none}} ({{Abbr|pl|plural}}. {{Langx|la|bisontes|label=none}}).<ref name= OED/> Later Latin spellings of the term included {{Langx|la|visontes|label=none}}, {{Langx|la|vesontes|label=none}}, and {{Langx|la|bissontes|label=none}}.<ref name= OED/>

[[John Trevisa]] is the earliest author cited by the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' as using, in his 1398 translation of [[Bartholomeus Anglicus]]'s ''De proprietatibus rerum'', the Latin plural {{Langx|la|bisontes|label=none}} in English, as "bysontes" ({{Langx|enm|byſontes}} and {{Langx|enm|bysountes|label=none}}).<ref name= OED/> [[Philemon Holland]]'s 1601 translation of Pliny's ''Natural History'', referred to "bisontes". The [[marginalia]] of the [[King James Version]] gives "bison" as a [[Gloss (annotation)|gloss]] for the Biblical animal called the "[[pygarg]]" mentioned in the ''[[Book of Deuteronomy]]''.<ref name= OED/> [[Randle Cotgrave]]'s 1611 French–English dictionary notes that {{Langx|fr|bison|label=none}} was already in use in French, and it may have influenced the adoption of the word into English; alternatively, it may have been borrowed directly from Latin.<ref name= OED/> [[John Minsheu]]'s 1617 lexicon, ''Ductor in linguas'', gives a definition for ''Bíson'' in {{Langx|en-emodeng|"a wilde oxe, great eied, broad-faced, that will neuer be tamed"}}.<ref name= OED/>

In the 18th century the name of the European animal was applied to the closely related American bison (initially in Latin in 1693, by [[John Ray]]) and the [[Indian bison]] (the gaur, ''Bos gaurus'').<ref name= OED/> Historically, the word was also applied to Indian domestic cattle, the [[zebu]] (''B. indicus'' or ''B. primigenius indicus'').<ref name= OED/> Because of the scarcity of the European bison, the word 'bison' was most familiar in relation to the American species.<ref name= OED/>

By the time of the adoption of 'bison' into Early Modern English, the early medieval English name for the species had long been obsolete: the {{Langx|ang|wesend}} had descended from {{langx|gem-x-proto|*wisand}}, {{langx|gem-x-proto|wisund|label=none}} and was related to {{langx|non|vísundr}}.<ref name= OED/> The word 'wisent' was then borrowed in the 19th century from modern {{langx|de|Wisent}} [{{IPA|ˈviːzɛnt}}], itself related to {{langx|goh|wisunt}}, {{langx|goh|wisent|label=none}}, {{langx|goh|wisint|label=none}}, and to {{Langx|gmh|wisant}}, {{Langx|gmh|wisent|label=none}}, {{Langx|gmh|wisen|label=none}}, and ultimately, like the Old English name, from Proto-Germanic.<ref>{{Cite book|last=|first=|chapter-url=https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/229509|chapter=wisent, ''n''.|title=Oxford English Dictionary|publisher=|year=1989|isbn=|edition=online 2nd|location=|pages=|access-date=11 January 2021|orig-year=1928|archive-date=28 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228030210/https://www.oed.com/start;jsessionid=564822A79DF48AD419DE5B2E2B82A0F2?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F229509|url-status=live}}</ref> 

The word 'zubr' in English is a borrowing from {{langx|pl|żubr}} {{IPAc-pl|ʐ|u|b|r}}, previously also used to denote one race of the European bison.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Weissenborn|first1=W.|date=1838|title=On the Influence of Man in modifying the Zoological features of the Globe; with Statistical Accounts respecting a few of the more important species of Animals|journal=The Magazine of Natural History|volume=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wilson|first1=James|date=1831|title=Essay III: On the origin and natural history of the domestic ox, and its allied species|journal=Journal of Agriculture|volume=2}}</ref> The Polish ''żubr'' is similar to the word for the European bison in other modern [[Slavic languages]], such as {{langx|hsb|žubr|label=none}} in [[Upper Sorbian]]; {{langx|uk|зубр|translit=zubr|label=none}} or {{langx|uk|бізон|translit=bizon|label=none}} in [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]; {{langx|be|зубр|translit=zubr|label=none}} (or {{langx|be|зубар|translit=zubar|label=none}}) or {{langx|be|бізон|translit=bizon|label=none}} in [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]]; and {{langx|ru|зубр|translit=zubr|label=none}} in [[Russian language|Russian]]. The noun for the European bison in all living Slavonic tongues is thought to be derived from [[Proto-Slavic]]: ''*zǫbrъ'' ~ ''*izǫbrъ'', which itself possibly comes from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]: ''*ǵómbʰ-'' for tooth, horn or peg.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jagodziński |first1=Grzegorz |date=2008 |title=Nieindoeuropejskie słownictwo w germańskim |url=http://www.eioba.pl/a/1vmf/nieindoeuropejskie-slownictwo-w-germanskim |url-status=live |journal=Nieindoeuropejskie słownictwo w germańskim |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210103705/http://www.eioba.pl/a/1vmf/nieindoeuropejskie-slownictwo-w-germanskim |archive-date=10 December 2019 |access-date=30 November 2019}}</ref> In the Baltic countries of [[Lithuania]] and [[Latvia]], where some bison populations persist as well, the animal is known as {{langx|lv|stumbras|label=none}} (plural: ''strumbrai'') in [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] and {{langx|lt|sumbrs|label=none}} (plural: ''sumbri'') in [[Latvian language|Latvian]], respectively.

==Description==
[[File:European Bison.JPG|thumb|left|Side view of a European bison bull]]
[[File:Bison bonasus 02 MWNH 1527.jpg|thumb|Skull of a European bison]]
[[File:What colour is a European Bison's tongue? (955617578).jpg|thumb|Bison bull showing tongue colouration]]
The European bison is the heaviest surviving wild [[Terrestrial animal|land animal]] in Europe. Similar to their American cousins, European bison were potentially larger historically than remnant descendants;<ref name=WWFRussia /> modern animals are about {{convert|2.8|to|3.3|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length, not counting a tail of {{convert|30|to|92|cm|in|abbr=on}}, {{convert|1.8|to|2.1|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height, and {{convert|615|to|920|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight for males, and about {{convert|2.4|to|2.9|m|ft|abbr=on}} in body length without tails, {{convert|1.69|to|1.97|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height, and {{convert|424|to|633|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight for females.<ref name=WWFRussia>Semenov U.A. of [[World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF]]-Russia, 2014, "The Wisents of Karachay-Cherkessia", Proceedings of the [[Sochi National Park]] (8), pp.23–24, {{ISBN|978-5-87317-984-8}}, KMK Scientific Press</ref> At birth, calves are quite small, weighing between {{convert|15|and|35|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. In the free-ranging population of the Białowieża Forest of Belarus and Poland, body masses among adults (aged 6 and over) are {{convert|634|kg|abbr=on}} on average in the cases of males, and {{convert|424|kg|lb|abbr=on}} among females.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lhnet.org/wisent-european-bison/ |title=Factsheet: Wisent, European Bison (Cattle (Artiodactyla Bovidae Bovinae) > Bison bonasus) |access-date=24 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821134817/http://www.lhnet.org/wisent-european-bison/ |archive-date=21 August 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/hoofed_mammals/bison_european.html|title=European Bison: The Animal Files|access-date=14 May 2015|archive-date=15 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315073215/http://theanimalfiles.com/mammals/hoofed_mammals/bison_european.html|url-status=live}}</ref> An occasional big bull European bison can weigh up to {{convert|1000|kg|lb|abbr=on}} or more<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.torontozoo.com/ExploretheZoo/AnimalDetails.asp?pg=645 |title=torontozoo.com (2011). |access-date=22 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015175523/http://www.torontozoo.com/ExploretheZoo/AnimalDetails.asp?pg=645 |archive-date=15 October 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Boitani, Luigi, ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals''. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone Books (1984), {{ISBN|978-0-671-42805-1}}</ref><ref>Burnie D and Wilson DE (Eds.), ''Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife''. DK Adult (2005), {{ISBN|0789477645}}</ref> with old bull records of {{convert|1900|kg|lb|abbr=on}} for lowland wisent and {{convert|1000|kg|lb|abbr=on}} for Caucasian wisent.<ref name=WWFRussia />

On average, it is lighter in body mass, and yet slightly taller at the shoulder, than its American relatives, the [[wood bison]] (''Bison bison athabascae'') and the [[plains bison]] (''Bison bison bison'').<ref name=QuaternaryInternational2016>Gennady G. Boeskorov, Olga R. Potapova, Albert V. Protopopov, Valery V. Plotnikov, Larry D. Agenbroad, Konstantin S. Kirikov, Innokenty S. Pavlov, Marina V. Shchelchkova, Innocenty N. Belolyubskii, Mikhail D. Tomshin, Rafal Kowalczyk, Sergey P. Davydov, Stanislav D. Kolesov, Alexey N. Tikhonov, Johannes van der Plicht, 2016, "The Yukagir Bison: The exterior morphology of a complete frozen mummy of the extinct steppe bison, Bison priscus from the early Holocene of northern Yakutia, Russia", pp.7, [[Quaternary International]], Vol.406 (25 June 2016), Part B, pp.94–110</ref> Compared to the American species, the wisent has shorter hair on the neck, head, and forequarters, but longer tail and horns. See [[#Differences from American bison|differences from American bison]].

The European bison makes a variety of vocalisations depending on its mood and behaviour, but when anxious, it emits a growl-like sound, known in [[Polish language|Polish]] as ''chruczenie'' ({{IPAc-pl|x|r|u|tʂ|ɛ|ɲ|ɛ}}). This sound can also be heard from wisent males during the mating season.<ref name = pzł>{{cite web|title = The royal European bison|url = http://hunting.info.pl/2016/02/11/krolewskie-zubry/?lang=en|publisher = Łowiec Polski|date = 2016|access-date = 2 December 2019|archive-date = 31 January 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210131125220/http://hunting.info.pl/2016/02/11/krolewskie-zubry/?lang=en|url-status = live}}</ref>

==History==
===Prehistory===
[[File:Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain-110113.jpg|thumb|Bison depicted at [[cave of Altamira]]]]The similar skeletal morphology of the wisent with the [[steppe bison]] (''Bison priscus'') which also formerly inhabited Europe complicates the understanding of the early evolution of the European bison. It is thought that European bison [[Genetic divergence|genetically diverged]] from steppe bison (as well as modern American bison, which are descended from steppe bison) at least 100,000 years ago.<ref name= hub>{{Cite journal |last1=Zver |first1=Lars |last2=Toškan |first2=Borut |last3=Bužan |first3=Elena |date=September 2021 |title=Phylogeny of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison species in Europe and North America |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618221002421 |journal=Quaternary International |volume=595 |pages=30–38 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2021.04.022|bibcode=2021QuInt.595...30Z |url-access= subscription}}</ref><ref name= sex>{{Cite journal |last1=Grange |first1=Thierry |last2=Brugal |first2=Jean-Philip |last3=Flori |first3=Laurence |last4=Gautier |first4=Mathieu |last5=Uzunidis |first5=Antigone |last6=Geigl |first6=Eva-Maria |date=September 2018 |title=The Evolution and Population Diversity of Bison in Pleistocene and Holocene Eurasia: Sex Matters |journal=Diversity |language=en |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=65 |doi=10.3390/d10030065 |doi-access=free}}</ref> While nuclear DNA indicates that the two living bison species are each other's closest living relatives, the [[mitochondrial DNA]] of European bison is more closely related to that of [[aurochs]] and their domestic cattle descendants, which is suggested to be the result of either [[incomplete lineage sorting]] or ancient [[introgression]].<ref name= sex/>

Genetic evidence indicates that European bison were present across Europe, from Spain (where a [[sedimentary ancient DNA]] record is known from [[El Mirón Cave|El Miron Cave]] in [[Cantabria]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gelabert |first=Pere |last2=Oberreiter |first2=Victoria |last3=Straus |first3=Lawrence Guy |last4=Morales |first4=Manuel Ramón González |last5=Sawyer |first5=Susanna |last6=Marín-Arroyo |first6=Ana B. |last7=Geiling |first7=Jeanne Marie |last8=Exler |first8=Florian |last9=Brueck |first9=Florian |last10=Franz |first10=Stefan |last11=Cano |first11=Fernanda Tenorio |last12=Szedlacsek |first12=Sophie |last13=Zelger |first13=Evelyn |last14=Hämmerle |first14=Michelle |last15=Zagorc |first15=Brina |date=2025-01-02 |title=A sedimentary ancient DNA perspective on human and carnivore persistence through the Late Pleistocene in El Mirón Cave, Spain |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-55740-7?fbclid=IwY2xjawHmHAxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHW52PJoQtWLAMBpisLnNtdZtEmt0XHD9AFfDPvlopgFpqDGSzaqJznEm0Q_aem_ePeQ-mZnwS9svpa8635CeA |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=107 |doi=10.1038/s41467-024-55740-7 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=11696082 |doi-access=free}}</ref><sup>supplemental material</sup>)  to the Caucasus during the [[Last Glacial Period]], where they co-existed alongside steppe bison.<ref name= hub/> [[Cave painting]]s appear to distinguish between ''B. bonasus'' and ''B. priscus''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Soubrier |first=Julien |last2=Gower |first2=Graham |last3=Chen |first3=Kefei |last4=Richards |first4=Stephen M. |last5=Llamas |first5=Bastien |last6=Mitchell |first6=Kieren J. |last7=Ho |first7=Simon Y. W. |last8=Kosintsev |first8=Pavel |last9=Lee |first9=Michael S. Y. |last10=Baryshnikov |first10=Gennady |last11=Bollongino |first11=Ruth |last12=Bover |first12=Pere |last13=Burger |first13=Joachim |last14=Chivall |first14=David |last15=Crégut-Bonnoure |first15=Evelyne |date=2016-10-18 |title=Early cave art and ancient DNA record the origin of European bison |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13158 |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=13158 |doi=10.1038/ncomms13158 |issn=2041-1723|hdl=1885/146571 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> [[Late Pleistocene]] European bison belong to two [[mitochondrial genome]] lineages, which one study estimated to have split around 400,000 years ago, Bb1 (also known as Bison X, and sometimes controversially attributed to the species ''[[Bison schoetensacki]],'' which is otherwise known from remains hundreds of thousands of years older<ref name= sex/>) and Bb2. Bb1 has been found across Europe spanning from France to the Caucasus, while Bb2 was originally only found in the Caucasus before expanding westwards from around 14,000 years ago. Bb1 became extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene, with all modern European bison belonging to the Bb2 lineage.<ref name= sex/> At the end of the Last Glacial Period steppe bison became extinct in Europe, leaving European bison as the only bison species in the region.<ref name= hub/>

While some studies have estimated that modern European bison derive 10% of their ancestry from aurochs via interspecies gene flow, other authors have considered this a gross overstimate and based on flawed data, and not supported by the data from the full nuclear genome of the wisent, and that the actual contribution from aurochs/cattle around 2.4-3.2%, which is suggested to have occurred in the last 70,000 years.<ref name= sex/>

Historically, the lowland European bison's range encompassed most of the lowlands of northern Europe, extending from the [[Massif Central]] to the [[Volga River]] and the [[Caucasus]]. It may have once lived in the Asiatic part of what is now the [[Russian Federation]], reaching to [[Lake Baikal]] and [[Altai Mountains]] in east.<ref name= Sipko>{{cite journal |last= Sipko |first= Taras Petrovich |title= European bison in Russia – past, present and future |year= 2009 |journal= European Bison Conservation Newsletter |volume= 2 |pages= 148–159 |publisher= Institute of Ecology and Evolution A. N. Severtsov of the [[Russian Academy of Sciences]] |url=http://www.smz.waw.pl/wydawnictwa/biuletyn2/20_Sipko.pdf |access-date= 18 October 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220902215257/https://www.smz.waw.pl/wydawnictwa/biuletyn2/20_Sipko.pdf |archive-date= 2 September 2022}}</ref> The European bison is known in southern Sweden only between 9500 and 8700 [[Before Present|BP]], and in Denmark similarly is documented only from the [[Pre-Boreal]].<ref>The Holocene distribution of European bison – the archaeozoological record. Norbert Benecke. Munibe (Antropologia_Arkeologia) 57 421–428 2005. {{ISSN|1132-2217}}. Refers to Liljegren R. and Ekstrom J., 1996. The terrestrial late Glacial fauna in south Sweden. In L. Larsson (Hrsg). The earliest settlement of Scandinavia and its relationship with neighbouring areas. Acta Archaeologica Lundensia 8, 24, 135–139, Stockholm.</ref> It is not recorded from the [[British Isles]], nor from [[Italy]] or the [[Iberian Peninsula]] during the Holocene.<ref name=Euskomedia>{{cite web |url=http://www.euskomedia.org/PDFAnlt/munibe/aa/200501421428.pdf |title=The Holocene distribution of European bison-the archaeozoological record. |access-date=30 November 2015 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208103341/http://www.euskomedia.org/PDFAnlt/munibe/aa/200501421428.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Antiquity and Middle Ages===
Within mainland Europe, its range decreased as human populations expanded and cut down forests. They seemed to be common in [[Aristotle]]'s period on Mount Mesapion (possibly the modern [[Ograzhden (mountain)|Ograzhden]]).<ref name= Arist/> In the same wider area [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] calling them ''[[Paeonians|Paeonian]] bulls'' and ''bison'', gives details on how they were captured alive; adding also the fact that a golden Paeonian bull head was offered to [[Delphi]] by the Paeonian king Dropion (3rd century BC) who lived in what is today [[Tikveš]].<ref>Παυσανίας 2nd cent A.D.: Ελλάδος περιήγησης. Φωκικά, Λοκρών Οζόλων.</ref> The last references ([[Oppian]], [[Claudius Aelianus]]) to the animal in the transitional [[Mediterranean biogeographical region|Mediterranean]]/[[Continental biogeographical region]] in the Balkans in the area of modern borderline between [[Greece]], [[North Macedonia]] and [[Bulgaria]] date to the 3rd century AD.<ref>Douglas, N. 1927: Birds and Beasts of the Greek Anthology. Florence.</ref><ref>Kitchell, K.F. 2013: Animals in the Ancient Word from A to Z.</ref> In northern [[Bulgaria]], the wisent was thought to have survived until the 9th or 10th century AD, but more recent data summary shows that the species survived up to 13th - 14th century AD in eastern Bulgaria and up to 16th - 17th century AD in the northern part of the country.<ref>Spassov, N., Iliev, N. 1986: Bone remains of Wisent (Bison bonasus L.) in the medieval
settlement near the Garvan village, Silistra District (new researches). In: Vazharova,
Zh. The Medieval Settlement at Garvan Village, Silistra District, 4th–11th century A. D.,
Sofia, Publ. House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 68.</ref><ref>Boev, Ζ. 2022: European bison (Bison bonasus Linnaeus, 1758) in Bulgaria: fossil and historical records, distribution, and disappearance. Journal of Wildlife and Biodiversity 6(1): 92-99.</ref> There is a possibility that the species' range extended to [[East Thrace]] during the 7th–8th century AD.<ref>Onar, V., Soubrier, J., Toker, N.Y., Loenen, v.A., Llamas, B., Siddiq, B.A., Pasicka, E. & M. Tokarska 2016: Did the historical range of the European bison (''Bison bonasus'' L.) extend further south?—a new finding from the Yenikapı Metro and Marmaray excavation, Turkey. Mammal Research 62(1): 103–109.</ref> Its population in [[Gaul]] was extinct in the 8th century AD. The species survived in the [[Ardennes]] and the [[Vosges Mountains]] until the 15th century.<ref name= pucek>''European Bison (Bison bonasus): Current State of the Species and Strategy for Its Conservation'' By Zdzsław Pucek, Published by Council of Europe, 2004, {{ISBN|92-871-5549-6}}, 978-92-871-5549-8</ref> In the [[Early Middle Ages]], the wisent apparently still occurred in the forest steppes east of the Urals, in the [[Altai Mountains]], and seems to have reached [[Lake Baikal]] in the east. The northern boundary in the Holocene was probably around 60°N in Finland.<ref name= Sipko/> European bison survived in a few natural forests in Europe, but their numbers dwindled.

===Early Modern period===
[[File:CaucasianBison-Demidoff1898.png|upright=1.0|thumb|A specimen of the now-extinct [[Caucasian wisent|Caucasian subspecies]], 1889]]
In 1513 the [[Białowieża Forest]], at this point one of the last areas on Earth where the European bison still roamed free, was transferred from the [[Trakai Voivodeship|Troki Voivodeship]] of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]] to the [[Podlaskie Voivodeship (1513–1795)|Podlaskie Voivodeship]], which after the [[Union of Lublin]] became part of the Polish Crown. In the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], at first European bison in the Białowieża Forest were legally the property of the [[Grand Dukes of Lithuania]] and later belonged to the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland]]. Polish-Lithuanian rulers took measures to protect the European bison, such as King [[Sigismund II Augustus]] who instituted the [[death penalty]] for [[poaching]] bison in Białowieża in the mid-16th century. Wild European bison herds existed in the forest until the mid-17th century. In 1701, King [[Augustus II the Strong]] greatly increased protection over the forest; the first written sources mentioning the use of some forest meadows for the production of winter fodder for the bison come from this period.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Samojlik|editor-first=Tomasz|date=2005|title=Ochrona i Łowy. Puszcza Białowieska w czasach królewskich|location=Białowieża|publisher=Zakład Badania Ssaków Polskiej Akademii Nauk|isbn=83-907521-5-8}}</ref> In the early 19th century, after the [[Partitions of Poland|partitions of the Polish Commonwealth]], the [[List of Russian rulers|Russian tsars]] retained old Polish-Lithuanian laws protecting the European bison herd in Białowieża. Despite these measures and others, the European bison population continued to decline over the following century, with only Białowieża and Northern Caucasus populations surviving into the 20th century.<ref name= WWF>name= WWF>[http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/europe/where/latvia/lake_pape/about/bison/index.cfm "Lake Pape – Bison", World Wide Fund for Nature]{{full citation needed|date=May 2013}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813121256/http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/europe/where/latvia/lake_pape/about/bison/index.cfm |date=13 August 2006 }}</ref><ref name= plan>{{Cite journal |last= Pucek |first= Z. |last2= Belousova |first2= I. P. |last3= Krasiński |first3= Z. A. |last4= Krasińska |first4= M. |last5= Olech |first5= W. |title= European bison (Bison bonasus): Current state of the species and an action plan for its conservation |journal= Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats |date= 10 October 2003 |url=https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=1300780&SecMode=1&DocId=1441864&Usage=2 |access-date=2 May 2017 |archive-date= 3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192440/https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=1300780&SecMode=1&DocId=1441864&Usage=2 |url-status= live}}</ref> The last European bison in [[Transylvania]] died in 1790.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bison-ebcc.eu/european-bison/|title=European Bison – Information about the species|publisher=European Bison Conservation Center|date=2018|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=17 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817165647/http://www.bison-ebcc.eu/european-bison/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Early 20th century===
During [[World War I]], occupying German troops killed 600 of the European bison in the Białowieża Forest for sport, meat, hides and horns.<ref name= WWF/> A German scientist informed army officers that the European bison were facing imminent extinction, but at the very end of the war, retreating German soldiers shot all but nine animals.<ref name= WWF/><ref name= plan/> The last wild European bison in Poland was killed in 1921. The last wild European bison in the world was killed by poachers in 1927 in the [[western Caucasus]]. By that year, 48<ref>{{Cite web |title=The European Bison {{!}} Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve |url=https://pt-zapovednik.org/zubr/ |access-date=2022-08-13 |language=en-US |archive-date=13 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813220416/https://pt-zapovednik.org/zubr/ |url-status=live }}</ref> remained, all held by zoos. The International Society for the Preservation of the Wisent was founded on 25 and 26 August 1923 in Berlin, following the example of the [[American Bison Society]]. The first chairman was Kurt Priemel, director of the [[Frankfurt Zoo]], and among the members were experts like Hermann Pohle, [[Max Hilzheimer]] and [[Julius Riemer]]. The first goal of the society was to take stock of all living bison, in preparation for a breeding programme. Important members were the Polish Hunting Association and the [[Poznań]] zoological gardens, as well as a number of Polish private individuals, who provided funds to acquire the first bison cows and bulls. The breeding book was published in the company's annual report from 1932. While Priemel aimed to grow the population slowly with pure conservation of the breeding line, [[Lutz Heck]] planned to grow the population faster by cross-breeding with American bison in a separate breeding project in Munich, in 1934.

===World War II===
Heck gained the support of then ''Reichsjägermeister'' [[Hermann Göring]], who hoped for huntable big game.<ref>Irina Steinmann: [[Nils Seethaler]] hat zur Person Julius Riemer geforscht. In: Wittenberger Sonntag vom 10. Mai 2019.</ref> Heck promised his powerful supporter in writing: "Since surplus bulls will soon be set, the hunting of the Wisent will be possible again in the foreseeable future". Göring himself took over the patronage of the German Professional Association of Wisent Breeders and Hegers, founded at Heck's suggestion. Kurt Priemel, who had since resigned as president of the International Society for the Preservation of the Wisent, warned in vain against "manification". Heck answered by announcing that Göring would take action against Priemel if he continued to oppose his crossing plans. Priemel was then banned from publishing in relation to bison breeding, and the regular bookkeeper of the International Society, Erna Mohr, was forced to hand over the official register in 1937. Thus, the older society was effectively incorporated into the newly created Professional Association. After the Second World War, therefore, only the pure-blooded bison in the game park [[Springe]] near Hanover were recognised as part of the international herd book.<ref>Urmacher unerwünscht. Berliner Zoo. In: [[Der Spiegel]] vom 23. Juni 1954.</ref><ref>Frank G. Wörner: DER WISENT – Ein Erfolg des Artenschutzes: Notizen zur Rettung und Rückkehr eines Giganten. In: Veröffentlichungen des Tierparks [[Niederfischbach]] gemeinsam mit dem regionalen Naturschutzverein Ebertseifen Lebensräume e.&nbsp;V., 2006.</ref>

===1950s onwards===
[[File:Jan Jerzy Karpinski zubry.jpg|thumb|Białowieża Forest, 1955]]
The first two bison were released into the wild in the Białowieża Forest in 1929.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oep.neostrada.pl/restytucja.htm|title=Zagłada i restytucja żubrów|website=www.oep.neostrada.pl|access-date=1 May 2017|archive-date=17 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317090642/http://www.oep.neostrada.pl/restytucja.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1964 more than 100 existed.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Ley|first=Willy|date=December 1964|title=The Rarest Animals|department=For Your Information|url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v23n02_1964-12#page/n93/mode/2up|magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction|pages=94–103}}</ref> Over the following decades, thanks to Polish and international efforts, the Białowieża Forest regained its position as the location with the world's largest population of European bison, including those in the wild.<ref name = pzł /> In 2005–2007, a wild bison nicknamed [[Pubal]] became renowned in southeast Poland due to his friendly interactions with humans and unwillingness to reintegrate into the wild.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fakty.interia.pl/podkarpackie/news-ocalony-zubr-nie-chce-zyc-na-wolnosci,nId,1130036|title=Ocalony żubr nie chce żyć na wolności|publisher=Interia|date=2007-01-02|access-date=2019-11-29|archive-date=20 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220072904/https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2014 there were 1,434 wisents in Poland, out of which 1,212 were in free-range herds and 522 belonged to the wild population in the [[Białowieża Forest]]. Compared to 2013, the total population in 2014 increased by 4.1%, while the free-ranging population increased by 6.5%.<ref name= EWL/> Bison from Poland have also been transported beyond the country's borders to boost the local populations of other countries, among them Bulgaria, Spain, Romania, Czechia and others.<ref name= 90l>{{cite AV media |date=11 September 2019 |title=90 lat ochrony żubra |trans-title= 90 Years of Zubr Protection |medium= video |location= Poland |publisher= Lasy Państwowe}}</ref> Poland has been described as the world's breeding centre of the European bison,<ref name = pzł /> where the bison population doubled between 1995 and 2017, reaching 2,269 by the end of 2019<ref name= wyniki>{{cite web|url=https://smz.waw.pl/wyniki-inwentaryzacji-zubrow-w-polsce/|title=Wyniki inwentaryzacji żubrów w Polsce|date=14 April 2020|access-date=11 May 2020|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731102038/https://smz.waw.pl/wyniki-inwentaryzacji-zubrow-w-polsce/|url-status=live}}</ref> – the total population has been increasing by around 15% to 18% yearly.<ref name= lbn/> In July 2022 a small population was released into woodland by Canterbury in Kent to trial their reintroduction into the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-18 |title=Wild bison return to UK for first time in thousands of years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/18/wild-bison-return-to-uk-for-first-time-in-thousands-of-years |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=18 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718113903/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/18/wild-bison-return-to-uk-for-first-time-in-thousands-of-years |url-status=live }}</ref> In May 2024, a small population was released in central Portugal.<ref name= rcb>{{cite web | url=https://rcb-radiocovadabeira.pt/rewilding-bisontes-europeus-chegam-pela-primeira-vez-a-portugal/ | title=Rewilding: Bisontes europeus chegam pela primeira vez a Portugal | date=31 May 2024 }}</ref> In 2012 and 2019 bisons were released in protected areas on Bornholm and Northern Jutland, Denmark.[[File:EuropeanBisonLyd3.png|upright=1.0|thumb|European bison's skeleton]]
==Behaviour and biology==
===Social structure and territorial behaviours===
[[File:Зубри.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Adult females with calves]]
[[File:C110.jpg|thumb|Bison usually live in small herds of about 10 animals; the image shows a herd in a nursery in the [[Altai Mountains]].]]

The European bison is a [[Herd|herd animal]], which lives in both mixed and solely male groups. Mixed groups consist of adult females, calves, young aged 2–3 years, and young adult bulls. The average herd size is dependent on environmental factors, though on average, they number eight to 13 animals per herd. Herds consisting solely of bulls are smaller than mixed ones, containing two individuals on average. European bison herds are not family units. Different herds frequently interact, combine, and quickly split after exchanging individuals.<ref name= pucek/>

Bison social structure has been described by specialists as a [[matriarchy]], as it is the cows of the herd that lead it, and decide where the entire group moves to graze.<ref>{{cite web|title = Leśnicy wołają żubry na siano|url = https://tvnmeteo.tvn24.pl/informacje-pogoda/polska,28/lesnicy-wolaja-zubry-na-siano,18741,1,0.html|publisher = TVN Meteo|author = Mirosław Androsiuk|date = 26 January 2012|access-date = 2 December 2019|archive-date = 28 December 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211228030217/https://tvn24.pl/tvnmeteo/najnowsze/lesnicy-wolaja-zubry-na-siano-4878020|url-status = live}}</ref> Although larger and heavier than the females, the oldest and most powerful male bulls are usually satellites that hang around the edges of the herd to protect the group.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Marta Kądziela (Director)|date=24 September 2014|title=Ocalony Świat – odc. 2 – Leśny majestat|trans-title = Saved World – Episode 2 – Forest Majesty|medium=Documentary|location=Poland|publisher=TVP1}}</ref> Bulls begin to serve a more active role in the herd when a danger to the group's safety appears, as well as during the mating season – when they compete with each other.<ref>{{cite web|title = Żubr dostał kosza, więc uciekł z pszczyńskiego rezerwatu|url = https://dziennikzachodni.pl/zubr-dostal-kosza-wiec-uciekl-z-pszczynskiego-rezerwatu/ar/240797|publisher = Dziennik Zachodni|author = Sylwia Plucińska|date = 6 April 2010|access-date = 2 December 2019|archive-date = 31 January 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210131163522/https://dziennikzachodni.pl/zubr-dostal-kosza-wiec-uciekl-z-pszczynskiego-rezerwatu/ar/240797|url-status = live}}</ref>

Territory held by bulls is correlated by age, with young bulls aged between five and six tending to form larger home ranges than older males. The European bison does not defend territory, and herd ranges tend to greatly overlap. Core areas of territory are usually sited near meadows and water sources.<ref name= pucek/>

===Reproduction===
The rutting season occurs from August through to October. Bulls aged 4–6 years, though sexually mature, are prevented from mating by older bulls. Cows usually have a gestation period of 264 days, and typically give birth to one calf at a time.<ref name= pucek/>

On average, male calves weigh {{convert|27.6|kg|lb|sigfig=3|abbr=on}} at birth, and females {{convert|24.4|kg|lb|sigfig=3|abbr=on}}. Body size in males increases proportionately to the age of 6 years. While females have a higher increase in body mass in their first year, their growth rate is comparatively slower than that of males by the age of 3–5. Bulls reach sexual maturity at the age of two, while cows do so in their third year.<ref name= pucek/>

European bison have lived as long as 30 years in captivity,<ref>{{cite news |first=Luísa |last=Medeiros |url=http://www.correiobraziliense.com.br/app/noticia182/2009/09/03/cidades,i=139677/EXEMPLAR+DE+BISAO+FEMEA+QUE+VIVE+NO+ZOOLOGICO+DE+BRASILIA+PODE+SER+O+MAIS+VELHO+DA+ESPECIE.shtml |title=Female European bison in Brasília Zoo may be the species oldest |date=3 September 2009 |work=correiobraziliense.com.br |access-date=3 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904232217/http://www.correiobraziliense.com.br/app/noticia182/2009/09/03/cidades,i=139677/EXEMPLAR+DE+BISAO+FEMEA+QUE+VIVE+NO+ZOOLOGICO+DE+BRASILIA+PODE+SER+O+MAIS+VELHO+DA+ESPECIE.shtml |archive-date=4 September 2009 |url-status=dead }}(in Portuguese)</ref> but in the wild their lifespan is usually between 18 and 24 years, with females living longer than males.<ref name=żubryonline>{{cite web|title = ŻubryOnline|url = http://www.lasy.gov.pl/pl/informacje/kampanie_i_akcje/zubryonline|publisher = Lasy Państwowe|date = 4 November 2019|access-date = 30 November 2019|archive-date = 8 December 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191208130016/http://www.lasy.gov.pl/pl/informacje/kampanie_i_akcje/zubryonline|url-status = live}}</ref> Productive breeding years are between four and 20 years of age in females, and only between six and 12 years of age in males.

===Diet===
European bison feed predominantly on grasses, although they also browse on [[Shoot (botany)|shoot]]s and leaves; in summer, an adult male can consume 32&nbsp;kg of food in a day.<ref name=BSG>{{cite book|title=European Bison Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan|year=2004|publisher=IUCN/SSC Bison Specialist Group|location=Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.|author=Pucek, Z.|author2=Belousova, I.P.|author3=Krasiñska, M.|author4=Krasiñski, Z.A.|author5=Olech, W.|name-list-style=amp}}</ref> European bison in the Białowieża Forest in Poland have traditionally been fed hay in the winter for centuries, and large herds may gather around this diet supplement.<ref name=BSG /> European bison need to drink every day, and in winter can be seen breaking ice with their heavy hooves.<ref name=UU>{{cite web|title=Ultimate Ungulate|url=http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Bison_bonasus.html|author=Brent Huffman|access-date=18 June 2006|archive-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226095419/http://www.ultimateungulate.com/artiodactyla/bison_bonasus.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Differences from American bison===
[[File:Euroameribison.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Skulls of European bison (left) and American bison (right)]]
Although superficially similar, a number of physical and behavioural differences are seen between the European bison and the American bison. The bison has 14 pairs of ribs, while the American bison has 15.<ref>''The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge'' by Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain), published by C. Knight, 1835</ref> 
[[File:European bison (bison bonasus) in Tallinn Zoo, Estonia (2023 March).jpg|thumb|European bison has a lankier body than the American bison ([[Tallinn Zoo]], Estonia, 2023 March)]]
Adult European bison are (on average) taller than American bison, and have longer legs.<ref>''Trophy Bowhunting: Plan the Hunt of a Lifetime and Bag One for the Record Books'', by Rick Sapp, Edition: illustrated, published by Stackpole Books, 2006, {{ISBN|0-8117-3315-7}}, 978-0-8117-3315-1</ref> European bison tend to [[Browsing (predation)|browse]] more, and [[Grazing|graze]] less than their American relatives; to accommodate this their necks are set differently. Compared to the American bison, the nose of the European bison is set further forward than the forehead when the neck is in a neutral position.

The body of the wisent is less hairy, though its tail is hairier than that of the American species. The horns of the European bison point forward through the plane of their faces, making them more adept at fighting through the interlocking of horns in the same manner as domestic cattle, unlike the American bison, which favours charging.<ref>''American Bison: A Natural History'', By Dale F. Lott, Harry W. Greene, ebrary, Inc., Contributor Harry W. Greene, Edition: illustrated, Published by University of California Press, 2003 {{ISBN|0-520-24062-6}}, 978-0-520-24062-9</ref> European bison are less tameable than the American ones, and breed with domestic cattle less readily.<ref>''Zoologist: A Monthly Journal of Natural History'', By Edward Newman, James Edmund Harting, Published by J. Van Voorst, 1859</ref>

The European bison is less shaggy, with a more lanky body shape.<ref>{{cite web | title=Bison Rewilding Plan | website=Rewilding Europe | date=17 May 2014 | url=https://rewildingeurope.com/rewilding-in-action/wildlife-comeback/bison/ | access-date=5 March 2023 | archive-date=5 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305074521/https://rewildingeurope.com/rewilding-in-action/wildlife-comeback/bison/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In terms of behavioural capability, European bison runs slower and with less stamina yet jumps higher and longer than American bisons, showing signs of more developed adaptations into mountainous habitats.<ref name=WWFRussia />

==Conservation==
[[File:Зубри- Язовир Студен кладенец 5.jpg|thumb|left|[[Valchi Dol]] reserve in Bulgaria]]

The protection of the European bison has a long history; between the 15th and 18th centuries, those in the forest of Białowieża were protected and their diet supplemented.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bison bonasus|url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Bison_bonasus.html|publisher=Animal Diversity Web|author=Trapani, J.|access-date=21 July 2011|archive-date=11 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111122147/http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Bison_bonasus.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Efforts to restore this species to the wild began in 1929, with the establishment of the Bison Restitution Centre at Białowieża, Poland.<ref>{{cite book|title=European bison – the nature monograph|year=2007|publisher=Mammal Research Institute|location=Białowieża, Poland.|author1=Krasińska, M. |author2=Krasiński, Z.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The New Encyclopedia of Mammals|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|author=Macdonald, D.}}</ref> Subsequently, in 1948, the Bison Breeding Centre was established within the [[Prioksko-Terrasny Biosphere Reserve]].

The modern herds are managed as two separate lines – one consisting of only ''Bison bonasus bonasus'' (all descended from only seven animals) and one consisting of all 12 ancestors, including the one ''B. b. caucasicus'' bull.<ref>{{cite web |title= Genetic status of the species |publisher= Bison Specialist Group – Europe |url=http://ebac.sggw.pl/genetic_status.html |access-date= 17 June 2013 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130307080532/http://ebac.sggw.pl/genetic_status.html |archive-date= 7 March 2013}}</ref> The latter is generally not considered a separate subspecies because they contain DNA from both ''B. b. bonasus'' and ''B. b. caucasicius'', although some scientists classify them as a new subspecies, ''B. b. montanus''.<ref>{{cite web|title = The Extinction Website – Species Info – Caucasian European Bison|url = http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/caucasianbison.htm|website = www.petermaas.nl|access-date = 13 August 2015|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150711184244/http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/caucasianbison.htm|archive-date = 11 July 2015|df = dmy-all}}</ref> Only a limited amount of [[inbreeding depression]] from the [[population bottleneck]] has been found, having a small effect on skeletal growth in cows and a small rise in calf mortality. Genetic variability continues to shrink. From five initial bulls, all current European bison bulls have one of only two remaining [[Y chromosome]]s.

===Reintroduction===
[[File:Reserva CIBE.jpg|thumb|European bison reserve in [[Spain]], where a reintroduction programme in [[San Cebrián de Mudá]], [[Castile and León]] is in place.]]
[[File:Зубри у Сколівських Бескидах(3).jpg|thumb|Bison in [[Skole Beskids National Nature Park]], [[Stryi Raion]] in Ukraine]]

Beginning in 1951, European bison have been [[Reintroduction|reintroduced]] into the wild, including some areas where they were never found wild.<ref name= rwbz>{{Cite web |title= Bison reintroduction & conservation |year= 2022 |publisher= Rewilding Britain |url=https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/explore-rewilding/reintroductions-key-species/rewilding-superstars/european-bison?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqKXMzduF-QIVSuztCh0xnwUSEAAYASAAEgIaDvD_BwE |access-date= 2022-07-19 |archive-date= 20 December 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231220072859/https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/reintroductions-key-species/key-species/european-bison |url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=European bison : status survey and conservation action plan|others=Pucek, Zdzisław,, Belousova, Irina P.,, Krasińska, Małgorzata. compiler., Krasiński, Zbigniew A., 1938–, Olech, Wanda,, IUCN/SSC Bison Specialist Group.|year=2004|isbn=2831707625|location=Gland|page=16|oclc=56807539|last1 = Belousova|first1 = Irina P.}}</ref> Free-ranging herds are currently found in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Slovakia,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurowildlife.org/news/wisents-in-slovakia-the-population-has-increased-three-times-since-2004/|title=Wisents in Slovakia: the population has increased three times since 2004|publisher=[[European Wildlife]]|date=23 July 2013|access-date=23 July 2013|archive-date=22 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822204656/http://www.eurowildlife.org/news/wisents-in-slovakia-the-population-has-increased-three-times-since-2004/|url-status=live}}</ref> Latvia, Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan, Germany,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.de/die-wisente-kehren-nach-deutschland-zur%C3%BCck/a-16248800|title=Die Wisente kehren nach Deutschland zurück – Wissen & Umwelt|date=11 April 2013|publisher=Deutsche Welle|access-date=12 April 2013|archive-date=12 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412002952/http://www.dw.de//die-wisente-kehren-nach-deutschland-zur%C3%BCck//a-16248800|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330546518 |title=Spatio-temporal distribution of European bison (Bison bonasus L.) in Poloniny National Park, East Carpathians, Slovakia |year=2013 |doi=10.1007/s13364-013-0136-y |pmid=24244043 |accessdate=2021-12-28 |archive-date=28 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228030337/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330546518_Spatio-temporal_distribution_of_European_bison_Bison_bonasus_L_in_Poloniny_National_Park_East_Carpathians_Slovakia |url-status=live |last1=Kowalczyk |first1=R. |last2=Krasińska |first2=M. |last3=Kamiński |first3=T. |last4=Górny |first4=M. |last5=Struś |first5=P. |last6=Hofman-Kamińska |first6=E. |last7=Krasiński |first7=Z. A. |journal=Acta Theriologica |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=391–401 |pmc=3786093 }}</ref> and in [[Nature reserve|forest preserves]] in the [[Western Caucasus]].<!-- European bison are now found in the {{convert|30|km|mi|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} 30&nbsp;km [[Zone of alienation|exclusion zone]] around [[Chernobyl]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}--> The Białowieża Primeval Forest, an [[ancient woodland]] that straddles the border between Poland and Belarus, continues to have the largest free-living European bison population in the world with around 1000 wild bison counted in 2014.<ref name= ostoja>{{cite web|url=https://bpn.com.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=106|title=Puszcza Białowieska ostoją żubrów|publisher=Białowieski Park Narodowy|date=2015|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=22 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922215230/https://bpn.com.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=106|url-status=live}}</ref> Herds have also been introduced in Moldova (2005),<ref>[http://www.iatp.md/arii/text/eng/pad_domn_bison.htm "Bison in the Republic of Moldova"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306122131/http://www.iatp.md/arii/text/eng/pad_domn_bison.htm |date=6 March 2009 }}, IATP</ref> Spain (2010),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.univision.com/contentroot/wirefeeds/world/8226775.shtml|title=El bisonte europeo se reimplanta en España|publisher=Univision.com|date=5 June 2010|access-date=16 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606191221/http://www.univision.com/contentroot/wirefeeds/world/8226775.shtml|archive-date=6 June 2011}}</ref> Denmark (2012),<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18355211|title=Denmark's Bornholm island gets rare bison from Poland|work=bbc.co.uk|date=7 June 2012|access-date=9 June 2012|archive-date=8 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608201203/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18355211|url-status=live}}</ref> the Czech Republic (2014),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurowildlife.org/news/the-way-to-the-wisents-rescue-in-europe-is-only-at-its-half/ |title=Wisent rescue in Europe is only at the half-way point |publisher=European WILDLIFE |date=13 January 2014 |access-date=4 February 2016 |archive-date=28 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150828174804/http://www.eurowildlife.org/news/the-way-to-the-wisents-rescue-in-europe-is-only-at-its-half/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and Portugal (2024).<ref name= rcb/>

Reintroduction of bison to a 52 square km grasslands area in the [[Țarcu Mountains]] of Romania in 2014 was found to have resulted in an additional 54,000 tons of [[carbon]] draw-down annually.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-16 |title=How a Small Herd of Romanian Bison Is Locking Away Thousands of Tons of Carbon |url=https://e360.yale.edu/digest/romania-bison-carbon |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=Yale E360 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Wilder Blean project, headed up by the Wildwood Trust and [[Kent Wildlife Trust]], introduced European bison to the UK [[Pleistocene rewilding|for the first time in 6000 years]] (although there was an unsuccessful attempt in Scotland in 2011,<ref name= Alla>[[Alladale Wilderness Reserve]], [https://alladale.com/rewilding/european-bison/ European Bison - Bison bonasus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023013802/https://alladale.com/rewilding/european-bison/ |date=23 October 2022 }}</ref> and the European bison is not confirmed to be native to England while the [[British Isles]] once used to be inhabited by now-extinct [[Steppe bison]] and [[Bison schoetensacki|Pleistocene woodland bison]]).<ref name= PP>{{Cite journal |last1=Palacio |first1=Pauline |last2=Berthonaud |first2=Véronique |last3=Guérin |first3=Claude |last4=Lambourdière |first4=Josie |last5=Maksud |first5=Frédéric |last6=Philippe |first6=Michel |last7=Plaire |first7=Delphine |last8=Stafford |first8=Thomas |last9=Marsolier-Kergoat |first9=Marie-Claude |display-authors=2 |date=1 January 2017 |title=Genome data on the extinct Bison schoetensacki establish it as a sister species of the extant European bison (Bison bonasus) |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=17 |issue=1 |page=48 |bibcode=2017BMCEE..17...48P |doi=10.1186/s12862-017-0894-2 |issn=1471-2148 |pmc=5303235 |pmid=28187706 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name= rwbz/><ref>{{Cite news|last=GrrlScientist|date=July 20, 2020|title=Bison To Return To British Woodland After Absence Of More Than Six Millennia|language=en|work=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2020/07/20/bison-to-return-to-british-woodland-after-absence-of-more-than-six-millennia/|access-date=2020-07-21|archive-date=21 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721035507/https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2020/07/20/bison-to-return-to-british-woodland-after-absence-of-more-than-six-millennia/|url-status=live}}</ref> The herd of 3 females, with plans to also release a male in the following months, was set free in July 2022 within a 2,500-acre (10 square km) conservation area in [[West Blean and Thornden Woods]], near Canterbury.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-07-09|title=European bison to be introduced into Kent woodland|language=en-gb|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-53349929|access-date=2020-07-10|archive-date=10 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710040653/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-53349929|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Chantler-Hicks|first=Lydia|date=2020-07-10|title=Bison to be introduced to Kent woodland|url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/bison-to-be-introduced-to-kent-woodland-230138/|access-date=2020-07-11|work=Kent Online|language=en|archive-date=11 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711051437/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/bison-to-be-introduced-to-kent-woodland-230138/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 July 2022 |title=Wilder Blean {{!}} Kent Wildlife Trust |url=https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/wilderblean |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718161153/https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/wilderblean |archive-date=18 July 2022 |access-date=18 July 2022 |website=www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk}}</ref> Unknown to the rangers, one of the females was pregnant and gave birth to a calf in October 2022, marking the first wild bison born in the UK for the first time in millennia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-21 |title=First wild bison born in UK for millennia after surprise pregnancy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/21/first-wild-bison-born-in-uk-for-millennia-after-surprise-pregnancy |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=25 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025150613/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/21/first-wild-bison-born-in-uk-for-millennia-after-surprise-pregnancy |url-status=live }}</ref> In winter 2023, the matriarch of the herd gave birth to a male calf. A further two female calves were born at the site in October 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome “two” the herd |url=https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/welcome-two-herd |website=Kent Wildlife Trust}}</ref> In January 2025, the project was recognised as one of [[The Big Issue]]’s top Changemakers of 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wilder Blean Bison Project recognised as a 2025 Changemaker by Big Issue |url=https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/changemaker |website=Kent Wildlife Trust |access-date=30 January 2025}}</ref>

As below-mentioned, there are established herds in [[Spain]], [[Portugal]] and [[Italy]], however European bison has not been recorded naturally from the [[Italian Peninsula]]s, while these regions were once inhabited by Pleistocene woodland bison and Steppe bison.<ref name= PP/><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Thun Hohenstein|first1=Ursula|last2=Di Nucci|first2=Annarosa|last3=Moigne|first3=Anne-Marie|date=January 2009|title=Mode de vie à Isernia La Pineta (Molise, Italie). Stratégie d'exploitation du Bison schoetensacki par les groupes humains au Paléolithique inférieur|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003552109000107|journal=L'Anthropologie|language=fr|volume=113|issue=1|pages=96–110|doi=10.1016/j.anthro.2009.01.009|access-date=24 October 2022|archive-date=18 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818025219/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003552109000107|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>P. Bologna, C. Petronio, 1994, ''The first occurrence of Bison priscus Bojanus in the Melpignano area (Lecce, southern Italy)'', Bollettino—Societa Paleontologica Italiana, vol. 33, no. 2, pp.275–278</ref><ref>Jone Castaños, Pedro Castaños, Xabier Murelaga, 2016, ''First Complete Skull of a Late Pleistocene Steppe Bison ( Bison priscus ) in the Iberian Peninsula'', [[Ameghiniana]], 53(5), pp.543-551</ref>

===Numbers and distribution===
====Numbers by country====
The total worldwide population recorded in 2019 was around 7,500 – about half of this number being in [[Poland]] and [[Belarus]], with over 25% of the global population located in Poland alone.<ref name= lbn/> For 2016, the number was 6,573 (including 4,472 free-ranging) and has been increasing.<ref name= EWL>{{cite web|title=Number of wisents in the Czech Republic passes one hundred for the first time since the Middle Ages|url=http://www.eurowildlife.org/news/number-of-wisents-in-the-czech-republic-passes-one-hundred-for-the-first-time-since-the-middle-ages/|website=European Wildlife|date=13 March 2018|access-date=6 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706132554/http://www.eurowildlife.org/news/number-of-wisents-in-the-czech-republic-passes-one-hundred-for-the-first-time-since-the-middle-ages/|archive-date=6 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some local populations are estimated as:
*{{flagcountry|Austria}}: 10 animals<ref name= EUR>{{Cite news|url = https://allaboutbison.com/bison-world-news/europe/european-bison/|title = All About Bison:Europe|newspaper = All About Bison|access-date = 23 October 2020|archive-date = 27 October 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201027093128/https://allaboutbison.com/bison-world-news/europe/european-bison/|url-status = live}}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Azerbaijan}}: 29 animals in 2021.<ref>Report.az, 2021, [https://report.az/en/multimedia/seventeen-bison-brought-to-azerbaijan-92-years-later/ Seventeen bison brought to Azerbaijan 92 years later] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020140027/https://report.az/en/multimedia/seventeen-bison-brought-to-azerbaijan-92-years-later/ |date=20 October 2022 }}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Belarus}}: 2,385 animals<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://npbp.by/about/news/vosstanovleniyu-zubra-v-belovezhskoy-pushche-100-let/ |title=Новости }}</ref> in 2023.
*{{flagcountry|Bulgaria}}: Around 150 animals in northeastern Bulgaria;<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBTqfSovBacC&pg=PA15|title=European Bison (Bison Bonasus): Current State of the Species and Strategies for its Conservation|page=15|isbn=9789287155498|last1=Pucek|first1=Zdzsław|date=1 January 2004|publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=15 December 2019|archive-date=17 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317095153/https://books.google.com/books?id=GBTqfSovBacC&pg=PA15|url-status=live}}</ref> a smaller population has been reintroduced in the eastern [[Rhodope Mountains]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://rewildingeurope.com/news/european-bison-brought-back-to-bulgaria/|title= European Bison Brought back to Bulgaria|date= 9 November 2013|access-date= 21 July 2018|archive-date= 22 July 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180722011316/https://rewildingeurope.com/news/european-bison-brought-back-to-bulgaria/|url-status= live}}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Czechia}}: 106 animals in 2017.<ref name= EWL/>
*{{flagcountry|Denmark}}: Two herds were established in the summer of 2012, as part of conservation of the species. First, fourteen animals were released in meadows near the town of [[Randers]], and later, seven animals on [[Bornholm]]. In June 2012, one male and six females were moved from Poland to the Danish island Bornholm. The plan was to examine if it is possible to establish a wild population of bison on the island over a five-year period.<ref name= denbis>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18355211|title=Denmark's Bornholm island gets rare bison from Poland|work=BBC News|date=7 June 2012|access-date=8 June 2012|archive-date=7 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607195647/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18355211|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, it was decided to keep the bison on Bornholm, but maintained within the large fenced-in part of the [[Almindingen]] forest where originally introduced. In 2019, the bison that initially had been introduced near Randers were moved to the more suitable and spacious [[Lille Vildmose]]; these were supplemented by seven animals from the Netherlands in 2021.<ref>{{cite web | title=De første europæiske bisoner er kommet til Lille Vildmose | url=https://www.avjf.dk/nyheder/de-foerste-europaeiske-bisoner-er-kommet-til-lille-vildmose/ | publisher=Aage V. Jensen Naturfond | access-date=16 January 2023 | archive-date=16 January 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116170729/https://www.avjf.dk/nyheder/de-foerste-europaeiske-bisoner-er-kommet-til-lille-vildmose/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|France}}: One herd was established in 2005 in the Alps near the village of Thorenc (close to the city of Grasse), as part of conservation of the species. In 2015, it contained around 50 animals.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
*{{flagcountry|Germany}}: A herd of 8 animals (1 male, 5 females, and 2 calves) was released into nature in April 2013 at the [[Rothaarsteig]] natural reserve near [[Bad Berleburg]] ([[North Rhine-Westphalia]])<ref>[http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0418-hance-wisent-germany.html Bison return to Germany after 300-year absence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423071609/http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0418-hance-wisent-germany.html |date=23 April 2013 }}. Mongabay.com</ref> after 850 years of absence since the species became extinct in that region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.derwesten.de/staedte/nachrichten-aus-bad-berleburg-bad-laasphe-und-erndtebrueck/wisente-erobern-die-itb-id2709702.html|author=Christoph Vetter|title=Wisente erobern die ITB|publisher=Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ), online edition|date=1 March 2010|access-date=7 July 2013|archive-date=18 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018030826/http://www.derwesten.de/staedte/nachrichten-aus-bad-berleburg-bad-laasphe-und-erndtebrueck/wisente-erobern-die-itb-id2709702.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> As of May 2015, 13 free-roaming wisents lived there.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} In September 2017 one of the free-living Polish animals swam the border river Oder and migrated to Germany. It was the first wild bison seen in Germany for more than 250 years. German authorities ordered the animal to be killed and it was shot dead by hunters in September 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/polski-zubr-zastrzelony-w-niemieckim-miasteczku-jest-decyzja-6266908880631425a|title = Polski żubr zastrzelony w niemieckim miasteczku. Jest decyzja|date = 26 June 2018|access-date = 8 September 2018|archive-date = 9 September 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180909000328/https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/polski-zubr-zastrzelony-w-niemieckim-miasteczku-jest-decyzja-6266908880631425a|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/germany-wild-bison-shot-dead-250-years-species-wwf-filing-charges-j-rg-vogels-nger-a7957241.html|title = Germany's 'first wild bison in 250 years' shot dead by authorities|website = [[Independent.co.uk]]|date = 20 September 2017|access-date = 8 September 2018|archive-date = 9 September 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180909001730/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/germany-wild-bison-shot-dead-250-years-species-wwf-filing-charges-j-rg-vogels-nger-a7957241.html|url-status = live}}</ref> As of 2020, the population has steadily increased to 26 individuals, living in one subpopulation.<ref name= iucn/>
*{{flagcountry|Hungary}}: 11 animals in the [[Őrség National Park]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orseginemzetipark.hu/hu/info/ertekeink/europai-bolenyeink/|title=orseginemzetipark.hu: Európai bölények az Őrségi Nemzeti Parkban.|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731102035/https://www.orseginemzetipark.hu/hu/info/ertekeink/europai-bolenyeink/|url-status=live}}</ref> and few more in the [[Körös-Maros National Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kmnp.nemzetipark.gov.hu/korosvolgyi-latogatokozpont-es-allatpark|title=kmnp.nemzetipark.gov.hu: Körösvölgyi Látogatóközpont és Állatpark|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=30 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130204923/http://kmnp.nemzetipark.gov.hu/korosvolgyi-latogatokozpont-es-allatpark|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Italy}}: A small herd can be found in the Natura Viva Park near Verona, Italy, where the animals are protected and are prepared to be put in nature again in the wild areas of Romania.
*{{flagcountry|Kyrgyzstan}}: Animals were reintroduced at one point.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330546518 |title=Spatio-temporal distribution of European bison (Bison bonasus L.) in Poloniny National Park, East Carpathians, Slovakia |first1=Matúš |last1=Bielik |first2=Marian |last2=Janiga |first3=Zuzana |last3=Ballova |journal=Oecologia Montana |year=2018 |volume=2 |pages=1–6 |via=[[ResearchGate]] |access-date=21 January 2021 |archive-date=28 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228030337/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330546518_Spatio-temporal_distribution_of_European_bison_Bison_bonasus_L_in_Poloniny_National_Park_East_Carpathians_Slovakia |url-status=live }}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Latvia}}: Animals were reintroduced in [[Pape Nature Reserve]] in 2007.
*{{flagcountry|Lithuania}}: 214 free-ranging animals as of 2017.<ref>{{cite news |title= Mįslė gamtosaugininkams: kaip visą būrį stumbrų perkelti į Dzūkiją |trans-title= A riddle for conservationists: how to move an entire herd of bison to Dzūkija |date= 9 January 2018 |work=[[DELFI]] |url=https://www.delfi.lt/grynas/gamta/misle-gamtosaugininkams-kaip-visa-buri-stumbru-perkelti-i-dzukija.d?id=76838203 |access-date= 9 January 2018 |archive-date= 9 January 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180109181522/https://www.delfi.lt/grynas/gamta/misle-gamtosaugininkams-kaip-visa-buri-stumbru-perkelti-i-dzukija.d?id=76838203 |url-status= live}}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Moldova}}: Extirpated from Moldova since the 18th century, wisents were reintroduced with the arrival of three European bison from Białowieża Forest in Poland several days before Moldova's Independence Day on 27 August 2005.<ref name= molbis>{{cite news |last1=Invitat |first1=Autor |date=27 August 2005 |title=The Bison Come Back to Moldova |url=https://www.moldova.org/en/the-bison-come-back-to-moldova-4123-eng/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616162621/https://www.moldova.org/en/the-bison-come-back-to-moldova-4123-eng/ |archive-date=16 June 2020 |access-date=30 May 2020 |publisher=Moldova.org}}</ref> Moldova is currently interested in expanding their wisent population, and began talks with Belarus in 2019 regarding a bison exchange program between the two countries.<ref>{{cite news |title=Belarus, Moldova discuss bison exchange program |url=http://www.mlh.by/en/press-service/news/2584/ |access-date=30 May 2020 |agency=Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Belarus |date=17 February 2019 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728032233/http://www.mlh.by/en/press-service/news/2584/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Bisons can be found in [[Pădurea Domnească]].
[[File:Pădurea Domnească - zimbru - 01.jpg|thumb|Bisons in [[Pădurea Domnească]], Moldova]]
*{{flagcountry|Netherlands}}: Natuurpark Lelystad: In 1976, the first wisent arrived from Białowieża. Natuurpark Lelystad is a breeding centre with a herd of approx. 25 animals living together with [[Przewalski's horse|Przewalski's horses]]. All wisents are registered in the European Studbook and are of the Lowland line. It is one of the suppliers for re-introduction projects in Europe. [[Zuid-Kennemerland National Park|Kraansvlak]] herd established in 2007 with three wisents, and expanded to six in 2008;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wisenten.nl/en/history|title=History {{!}} Wisentproject Kraansvlak|website=www.wisenten.nl|language=en|access-date=17 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318004008/https://www.wisenten.nl/en/history|archive-date=18 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> the Maashorst herd established in 2016 with 11 wisents;<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ark.eu/natuurontwikkeling/dieren/wisent/wisent-maashorst|title=Wisent Maashorst|date=17 March 2016|work=ARK Natuurontwikkeling|access-date=17 March 2017|language=nl|archive-date=27 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127064728/https://www.ark.eu/natuurontwikkeling/dieren/wisent/wisent-maashorst|url-status=live}}</ref> and the Veluwe herd established in 2016 with a small herd.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.wisentopdeveluwe.nl/|title=Wisent op de Veluwe|work=Stichting Wisent op de Veluwe|access-date=17 March 2017|language=nl|archive-date=22 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422171130/http://wisentopdeveluwe.nl/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020 a new herd of 14 bison was established in the Slikken van de Heen.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} Numbers at the end of 2017 were: Lelystad 24, Kraansvlak 22, Maashorst 15 and the Veluwe 5, for a total of 66 animals.
*{{flagcountry|Poland}}: As of May 15th 2025 the number reached 3060.<ref>https://zielona.interia.pl/przyroda/zwierzeta/news-mamy-rekord-zubry-w-polsce-przekroczyly-magiczna-granice-byl,nId,21400913</ref><ref>https://wbieszczady.pl/aktualnosci/liczba-zubrow-przekroczyla-wazna-granice-tu-zyje-ich-najwiecej/5JRk9prJvpfMuojiYG0g</ref><ref>https://wiescirolnicze.pl/newsy/rekordowa-liczba-zubrow-w-polsce-zakonczyla-sie-coroczna-inwentaryzacja,21640/</ref> out of which 2855 were free-roaming.<ref>https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=967033668850161&id=100066306111891&_rdr</ref> Earlier years data showed that by the end of 2019 the number was 2,269, of which 2,048 were free-roaming and 221 were living in captivity, including zoos. A total of 770 belonged to the wild population in the [[Białowieża Forest]] and 668 to [[Bieszczady National Park]].<ref name= wyniki/> The total population has been increasing by around 15% to 18% yearly.<ref name= lbn/> Between 1995 and 2017 the number of bison in Poland doubled; from 2012 to 2017 it rose by 30%.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Professor Wanda Olech-Piasecka|date=10 January 2017|title=Ochrona żubra w Polsce. Wyjaśniamy kontrowersje|trans-title = Protection of the zubr in Poland. We explain the controversies|medium=Interview|location=Poland|publisher=Telewizja Lasów Państwowych}}</ref> Poland has been described as the world's breeding centre of the European bison.<ref name = pzł /> Zubr from Poland have also been transported beyond the country's borders to boost the local populations of other countries – among them Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Moldova, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, and others.<ref name= 90l/><ref name= swizbis/><ref name= molbis/><ref name= denbis/> As the number of animals is growing, more bison are spotted in areas where they have not been seen in centuries, especially migrating males in Spring. The placement of about 40 free-roaming bison in the [[Lasy Janowskie]] in 2020/2021 resulted in ecologists' efforts to redesign some bridges of the S19 highway (constructed in 2020–2022) to allow large animals to cross it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dziennikwschodni.pl/janow-lubelski/zubry-w-lasach-janowskich-to-moze-byc-blad-alarmuja-ekolodzy-przez-droge-s19,n,1000251873.html|title=Żubry w lasach Janowskich? To może być błąd - alarmują ekolodzy. Przez drogę S19|access-date=11 May 2020|archive-date=30 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130145343/https://www.dziennikwschodni.pl/janow-lubelski/zubry-w-lasach-janowskich-to-moze-byc-blad-alarmuja-ekolodzy-przez-droge-s19,n,1000251873.html|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Bison Tracking Bunea © Calin Serban.jpg|thumb|277x277px|European Bisons in Făgăraș Mountains, Foundation Conservation Carpathia project area, Romania]]
*{{flagcountry|Portugal}}: A herd of 8 bisons were introduced in central Portugal for the first time in 2024 in Termas de Monfortinho and Herdade do Vale Freitoso, through the "Rewilding Portugal" programme.<ref name= rcb/>
*{{flagcountry|Romania}}: The European bison were reintroduced in 1958, when the first two animals were brought from Poland and kept in a reserve in [[Hațeg]]. Similar locations later appeared in [[Vama Buzăului]] (Valea Zimbrilor Nature Reserve) and [[Bucșani, Dâmbovița]]. The idea of free bison, on the Romanian territory, was born in 1999, through a program supported by the World Bank and the European Union.<ref name= rl>{{cite news |last=Gheorghe |first=Dan |date=24 July 2011 |title=Uriașii din Carpați |trans-title=The giants of the Carpathians |url=https://romanialibera.ro/special/reportaje/uriasii-din-carpati-232132 |language=Romanian |location=romanialibera.ro |access-date=15 January 2021 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121194946/https://romanialibera.ro/special/reportaje/uriasii-din-carpati-232132 |url-status=live }}</ref> Almost 160 free-roaming animals, as of 2019, population slowly increasing in the four areas where wild bison can be found: Northern Romania – [[Vânători-Neamț Natural Park]], and South-West Romania – [[Țarcu Mountains]] and [[Poiana Ruscă Mountains]], as part of the [https://web.archive.org/web/20240616084938/https://life-bison.com/ Life-Bison project] initiated by WWF Romania and [[Rewilding Europe]], with co-funding from the EU through its [[The LIFE Programme|LIFE Programme]],<ref name= rl/><ref>[https://rewildingeurope.com/areas/southern-carpathians/ Southern Carpathian] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205003815/https://rewildingeurope.com/areas/southern-carpathians/ |date=5 December 2019 }} (Rewilding Europe)</ref> but also in the Southern Carpathians, in the Făgăraș Mountains, as part of the Foundation Conservation Carpathia project, carried out within the LIFE Carpathia project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LIFE Carpathia EN |url=https://www.carpathia.org/life-carpathia-en/ |access-date=2023-12-15 |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215124110/https://www.carpathia.org/life-carpathia-en/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Since 2019, Foundation Conservation Carpathia has started to reintroduce the European Bison in the Făgăraș Mountains, after more than 200 years since their disappearance from the central forests of Romania. Foundation Conservation Carpathia aims to reintroduce 75 European bisons into the Făgăraș Mountains.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-27 |orig-date=27.05.2020 |title=The Făgăraș Mountains become home for the bison – the first release into the wild |url=https://www.carpathia.org/the-fagaras-mountains-become-home-to-bison-the-first-release-into-the-wild/ |access-date=15 December 2023 |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215161711/https://www.carpathia.org/the-fagaras-mountains-become-home-to-bison-the-first-release-into-the-wild/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2024, 14 additional bison were brought to the southern Carpathian mountains from Germany and Sweden.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-05 |title=LIFE with Bison: 14 European bison brought to Romania from Germany and Sweden |url=https://www.romania-insider.com/bison-brought-romania-germany-sweden-june-2024 |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=Romania Insider |language=en}}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Russia}}: As of 2020, the population of Wisents in Russia has greatly recovered and stands at 1,588 individuals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.belarus.by/en/press-center/press-release/belarus-home-to-almost-25-of-worlds-european-bison-population_i_117930.html |title=Belarus home to almost 25% of world's European bison population &#124; Press releases, Belarus |publisher=Belarus.by |date=2020-08-25 |accessdate=2021-12-28 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918211700/https://www.belarus.by/en/press-center/press-release/belarus-home-to-almost-25-of-worlds-european-bison-population_i_117930.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Serbia}}: In March 2022, 5 animals (one bull and four cows) were reintroduced where bison went extinct c.1800. Animals were transported from the Białowieża Forest and reintroduced on the [[Fruška Gora]] mountain.<ref>{{cite news | author = National Park Fruška Gora | title = Posle dva veka bizoni ponovo hodaju Srbijom | trans-title = After two centuries, bisons roam Serbia again | newspaper = Radio Television Serbia | language = sr | date = 31 March 2022 | url = https://www.rts.rs/page/magazine/sr/story/2953/priroda/4761320/bizoni-na-fruskoj-gori.html | access-date = 1 April 2022 | archive-date = 1 April 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220401160257/https://www.rts.rs/page/magazine/sr/story/2953/priroda/4761320/bizoni-na-fruskoj-gori.html | url-status = live }}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Slovakia}}: A bison reserve was established in [[Topoľčianky]] in 1958.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zubor.fotop.sk/en/|title=Zubria zvernica Topolčianky|access-date=22 October 2016|archive-date=22 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022221355/http://zubor.fotop.sk/en/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The reserve has a maximum capacity of 13 animals but has bred around 180 animals for various zoos. As of 2020, there was also a wild breeding herd of 48 animals in [[Poloniny National Park]] with an increasing population.<ref>{{cite web|title=Počet zubrov v Poloninách úspešne rastie, je ich už 48 a v lete pribudnú mladé|url=https://www.webnoviny.sk/nasvidiek/pocet-zubrov-v-poloninach-uspesne-rastie-je-ich-uz-48-a-v-lete-pribudnu-mlade/|website=Webnoviny|date=9 March 2020|access-date=24 September 2021|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924114847/https://www.webnoviny.sk/nasvidiek/pocet-zubrov-v-poloninach-uspesne-rastie-je-ich-uz-48-a-v-lete-pribudnu-mlade/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Spain}}: Two herds in northern Spain were established in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rewildingeurope.com/blog/biggest-bison-transport-ever/|title=Biggest bison transport ever Rewilding Europe|last=OKIA|date=9 October 2012|access-date=12 February 2016|archive-date=15 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215021727/https://www.rewildingeurope.com/blog/biggest-bison-transport-ever/|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2018, the total population neared a hundred animals, half of them in [[Castile and León]], but also in Asturias, Valencia, Extremadura and the Pyrenees.<ref>{{cite news |title=Segovia recibe nueve bisontes europeos para evitar su extinción |url=https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/3319083/0/segovia-bisonte-europeo-peligro-extincion-repoblacion-espana/ |access-date=24 September 2019 |newspaper=20 Minutos |date=20 April 2018 |archive-date=24 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924134727/https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/3319083/0/segovia-bisonte-europeo-peligro-extincion-repoblacion-espana/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Sweden}}: There are approximately 139 animals.<ref name= EUR/>
*{{flagcountry|Switzerland}}: More than 50 animals.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Coming from Poland, one male and four females were introduced in November 2019 into the natural reserve and forest of [[Suchy]], [[Canton of Vaud|Vaud Canton]], western Switzerland. On 15 June 2020, the first baby of that population was born.<ref name= swizbis>{{Cite news|url = https://m.lematin.ch/articles/20565496|title = Cinq bisons sont arrivés dans la forêt de Suchy|newspaper = Le Matin|date = 7 November 2019|access-date = 8 November 2019|archive-date = 28 December 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211228030200/https://www.lematin.ch/story/cinq-bisons-sont-arrives-dans-la-foret-de-suchy-891748379218|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.laliberte.ch/news-agence/detail/bisons-premiere-naissance-dans-la-foret-de-suchy-vd/567145 | title=Bisons: première naissance dans la forêt de Suchy (VD) | access-date=14 July 2020 | archive-date=14 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714192425/https://www.laliberte.ch/news-agence/detail/bisons-premiere-naissance-dans-la-foret-de-suchy-vd/567145 | url-status=live }}</ref> Besides the Suchy breeding station, several zoos in Switzerland are keeping bison too. From September 2022, at least five animals will be kept in semi-freedom in [[Welschenrohr-Gänsbrunnen|Welschenrohr]], with hiking paths cutting through the enclosure.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Raaflaub |first=Christian Raaflaub, Christian |date=2023-11-04 |title=Will a project to reintroduce European bison into Swiss forests work? |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/will-a-project-to-reintroduce-european-bison-into-swiss-forests-work/48946544 |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch |language=en-GB}}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|Ukraine}}: A population of around 400 animals, population was recently introduced to several national parks and is increasing.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Oliynik |first1=Larysa |title=BISON YEAR IN UKRAINE |url=https://vn.20minut.ua/Podii/naybilsha-v-ukrayini-populyatsiya-zubriv-meshkae-u-lisah-vinnichchini-11758781.html |website=Terrestrial ecosystems research |access-date=24 September 2019 }}</ref> State program of conservation and reproduction was approved in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Наказ Міндовкілля № 557 від 28.12.2022 – Міністерство захисту довкілля та природних ресурсів України |url=https://mepr.gov.ua/nakaz-mindovkillya-557-vid-28-12-2022/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |language=uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Eco-activists from WWF Ukraine managed to approve the action plan for the conservation of bison - Oj |url=https://odessa-journal.com/eco-activists-from-wwf-ukraine-managed-to-approve-the-action-plan-for-the-conservation-of-bison |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=odessa-journal.com |language=en}}</ref>
*{{flagcountry|UK}}: In 2011, 3 animals were introduced into [[Alladale Wilderness Reserve]] in Scotland. Plans to move more into the reserve were made, but the project failed due to not being "well thought through",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alladale.com/downloads/Alladalepress.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407115309/http://www.alladale.com/downloads/Alladalepress.pdf |archive-date=7 April 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the project was terminated in 2013.<ref name= Alla/> 11 years later, 3 female bison were introduced to the [[West Blean and Thornden Woods]] in [[Kent, England]] on 18 July 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=European bison arrive near Canterbury to manage woodland |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-62164223 |access-date=18 July 2022 |date=18 July 2022 |archive-date=18 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718054022/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-62164223 |url-status=live }}</ref> A calf, also female, was unexpectedly born in September 2022, bringing the total number to 4.<ref>Joe Wright, 2022, [https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/kent-welcomes-first-wild-bison-born-in-uk-for-centuries-275657/ First wild bison born in UK for centuries at Canterbury woods following shock pregnancy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021140927/https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/kent-welcomes-first-wild-bison-born-in-uk-for-centuries-275657/ |date=21 October 2022 }}, Kent Online</ref> On 24 December 2022 a bull was introduced after delays brought about by [[Brexit]]-related complications. This makes these 5 bison the first "complete" wild herd in the UK in thousands of years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-24 |title=Bull release completes UK's first wild bison herd in millennia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/24/bull-release-first-uk-wild-bison-herd-millennia |access-date=2022-12-25 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=25 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225091528/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/24/bull-release-first-uk-wild-bison-herd-millennia |url-status=live }}</ref> The birth of a male calf in winter 2023 and two female calves in October 2024 increased the herd's numbers to 8 animals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome “two” the herd |url=https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/welcome-two-herd |website=Kent Wildlife Trust}}</ref>

====Distribution====
[[File:Turnir.jpg|thumb|Bison sparring in the reserve in [[Altai Mountains]], [[Russia]]]]

The largest European bison herds — of both captive and wild populations — are still located in Poland and Belarus,<ref name= lbn/> the majority of which can be found in the [[Białowieża Forest]] including the most numerous population of free-living European bison in the world with most of the animals living on the Polish side of the border.<ref name= ostoja/> Poland remains the world's breeding centre for the wisent.<ref name = pzł /> In the years 1945 to 2014, from the [[Białowieża National Park]] alone, 553 specimens were sent to most captive populations of the bison in Europe as well as all breeding sanctuaries for the species in Poland.<ref name= ostoja/>

Since 1983, a small reintroduced population lives in the [[Altai Mountains]]. This population suffers from inbreeding depression and needs the introduction of unrelated animals for "blood refreshment". In the long term, authorities hope to establish a population of about 1,000 animals in the area. One of the northernmost current populations of the European bison lives in [[Vologodskaya Oblast]] in the [[Northern Dvina]] valley at about 60°N. It survives without supplementary winter feeding. Another Russian population lives in the forests around the [[Desna River]] on the border between Russia and Ukraine.<ref name= Sipko/> The north-easternmost population lives in [[Pleistocene Park]] south of [[Chersky (urban-type settlement)|Chersky]] in [[Siberia]], a project to recreate the [[steppe]] ecosystem which began to be altered 10,000 years ago. Five wisents were introduced on 24 April 2011. The wisents were brought to the park from the [[Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve]] near [[Moscow]]. The bison originated from a population in Denmark. Winter temperatures often drop below −50&nbsp;°C. Four of the five bison have subsequently died due to problems acclimatizing to the low winter temperature.

Plans are being made to reintroduce two herds in Germany<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wisent-welt.de/|title=Startseite – Wisent Welt|access-date=20 November 2011|archive-date=3 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203200821/http://www.wisent-welt.de/|url-status=live}}</ref> and in the Netherlands in [[Oostvaardersplassen]] Nature Reserve<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lhnet.org/second-group-of-3-european-bison-from-poland-bialowieza-was-released-today/|title=Second group of 3 European bison from Poland (Białowieża) was released today|publisher=Large Herbivore Network|access-date=14 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522153157/http://www.lhnet.org/second-group-of-3-european-bison-from-poland-bialowieza-was-released-today/|archive-date=22 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> in [[Flevoland]] as well as the [[Veluwe]]. In 2007, a bison [[Pilot experiment|pilot project]] in a fenced area was begun in [[Zuid-Kennemerland National Park]] in the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freenature.eu/free-en/free-nature-offerings/rewilding/bison-at-kraansvlak/|title=Bison|access-date=9 June 2012}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Because of their limited genetic pool, they are considered highly vulnerable to illnesses such as [[foot-and-mouth disease]]. In March 2016, a herd was released in the Maashorst Nature Reserve in [[North Brabant]]. Zoos in 30 countries also have quite a few bison involved in captive-breeding programs.

==Cultural significance==
[[File:Hajnowka pomnik Zubra ogolny.jpg|thumb|European bison monument in [[Hajnówka]]]]
Representations of the European bison from different ages, across millennia of human society's existence, can be found throughout Eurasia in the form of drawings and [[Petroglyph|rock carvings]]; one of the oldest and most famous instances of the latter can be found in the [[Cave of Altamira]], present-day Spain, where cave art featuring the wisent from the [[Upper Paleolithic]] was discovered.<ref name=sztych2014>{{Cite journal|author=Sztych, D.|title=Żubr w kulturze|journal=Życie Weterynaryjne|volume=89|issue=10|pages=857–865|date=2014}}</ref> The bison has also been represented in a wide range of art in human history, such as sculptures, paintings, photographs, [[glass art]], and more.<ref name=sztych2008>{{Cite journal|author=Sztych, D.|title=Kulturotwórcza rola żubra|journal=European Bison Conservation Newsletter|volume=1|issue=2008|pages=161–190|date=2008}}</ref> Sculptures of the wisent constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries continue to stand in a number of European cities; arguably the most notable of these are the [[:pl:Posąg Żubra w Spale|zubr statue in Spała from 1862]] designed by [[Mihály Zichy]] and the two bison sculptures in [[Kiel]] sculpted by [[August Gaul]] in 1910–1913. However, a number of other monuments to the animal also exist, such as those in [[Hajnówka]] and [[Pszczyna]] or at the [[Kyiv Zoo]] entrance.<ref name=sztych2008 /><ref name=sztych2014 /> [[Mikołaj Hussowczyk]], a poet writing in Latin about the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] during the early 16th century, described the bison in a historically significant fictional work from 1523.<ref>{{cite book|last=Дарашкевіч|first=Віктар|year=1980|title=Паэма жыцця // Песня пра зубра|location=Minsk|pages=171–184}}</ref>

The European bison is considered one of the national animals of Poland and Belarus.<ref name= POL/> Due to this and the fact that half of the worldwide European bison population can be found spread across these two countries,<ref name= lbn/> the wisent is still featured prominently in the [[heraldry]] of these neighbouring states (especially in the overlapping region of [[Eastern Poland]] and [[Western Belarus]]).<ref name=sztych2008 /> Examples in Poland include the coats of arms of: the counties of [[Hajnówka County|Hajnówka]] and [[Zambrów County|Zambrów]], the towns [[Sokółka]] and [[Żywiec]], the villages [[Białowieża]] and [[Narewka]], as well as the coats of arms of the [[Pomian coat of arms|Pomian]] and [[Wieniawa coat of arms|Wieniawa]] families. Examples in Belarus include the [[Grodno Region|Grodno]] and [[Brest Region|Brest]] voblasts, the town of [[Svislach]], and others. The European bison can also be found on the coats of arms of places in neighbouring countries: [[Perloja]] in southern Lithuania, [[Lypovets]] and [[Zubrytsia]] in west-central Ukraine, and [[Zubří (Vsetín District)|Zubří]] in east Czechia – as well as further outside the region, such as [[Kortezubi]] in the Basque Country, and [[Jabel]] in Germany.

A flavoured vodka called [[Żubrówka]] ({{IPAc-pl|ʐuˈbrufka}}), originating as a recipe of the [[szlachta]] of the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] in the 14th century, has since 1928 been industrially produced as a brand in Poland.<ref name="żubrówka">{{cite web|title = Żubrówka – kultowa wódka z trawką. Powstawanie, historia, drinki.|url = https://poranny.pl/zubrowka-kultowa-wodka-z-trawka-powstawanie-historia-drinki/ar/5351702|publisher = Kurier Poranny|author = Janka Werpachowska|date = 25 December 2010|access-date = 3 December 2019|archive-date = 3 December 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191203162148/https://poranny.pl/zubrowka-kultowa-wodka-z-trawka-powstawanie-historia-drinki/ar/5351702|url-status = live}}</ref> In the decades that followed, it became known as the "world's best known Polish vodka"<ref>{{cite web|title = Żubrówka|url = http://www.roust.com/brands/zubrowka|publisher = Roust|access-date = 2 December 2019|archive-date = 3 December 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191203172512/http://www.roust.com/brands/zubrowka|url-status = live}}</ref> and sparked the creation of a number of copy brands inspired by the original in Belarus, Russia, Germany, as well as other brands in Poland.<ref>{{cite web|title = Nie każdy może sprzedawć "żubrówkę". Witas: Nie tolerujemy, gdy ktoś do butelki wkłada trawę|url = https://prawo.gazetaprawna.pl/artykuly/886588,prawo-wlasnosci-intelektualnej-nie-kazdy-moze-sprzedawc-zubrowke.html|publisher = Gazeta Prawna|author = Patryk Słowik|date = 4 August 2015|access-date = 3 December 2019|archive-date = 3 December 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191203163954/https://prawo.gazetaprawna.pl/artykuly/886588,prawo-wlasnosci-intelektualnej-nie-kazdy-moze-sprzedawc-zubrowke.html|url-status = live}}</ref> The original Polish brand is known for placing a decorative blade of [[Hierochloe odorata|bison grass]] from the [[Białowieża Forest]] in each bottle of their product; both the plant's name in Polish and the vodka are named after ''żubr'', the Polish name for the European bison.<ref name="żubrówka"/> The bison also appears commercially as a symbol of a number of other Polish brands, such as the popular beer brand [[Żubr (beer)|Żubr]] and on the logo of Poland's second largest bank, [[Bank Polska Kasa Opieki|Bank Pekao S.A.]]<ref name=sztych2008 />

==See also==
*[[Białowieża National Park]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
{{ARKive attribute|title=|url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/www.arkive.org/bison-bonasus}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bison bonasus}}
{{Wikispecies|Bison bonasus|European bison}}
{{Scholia|topic}}
* [http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/artiodactyla/artiodactyla.bovidae.bison.html Bison entry]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041013015200/http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/artiodactyla/artiodactyla.bovidae.bison.html |date=13 October 2004 }} from ''Walker's Mammals of the World''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150711184244/http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/caucasianbison.htm The Extinction Website – Caucasian European bison (''Bison bonasus caucasicus'')].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060522194018/http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/carpathianbison.htm The Extinction Website – Carpathian European bison (''Bison bonasus hungarorum'')].
* [http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Bison_bonasus.html European bison/wisent]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/9604413.stm BBC NEWS Reversal fortunes]
* [http://www.terreco.univ.kiev.ua/_media/library/bizon/history-current-state-and-perspectives-of-conservation-of-european-bison-in-ukraine.pdf I. Parnikoza, V. Boreiko, V. Sesin, M. Kaliuzhna History, current state and perspectives of conservation of European bison in Ukraine // European Bison Conservation Newsletter Vol 2 (2009) pp: 5–16 ]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120821134817/http://www.lhnet.org/wisent-european-bison/ Species fact sheet on LHNet database]
* [http://www.lasy.gov.pl/zubr "Wisent online" from Browsk Forest District in Białowieża National Park, Poland]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140521234933/http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/05/19/rewilding-europe-brings-back-the-continents-largest-land-animal/ National Geographic – Rewilding Europe Brings Back the Continent's Largest Land Animal]
* [http://www.bison-ebcc.eu/ European Bison Conservation Center]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20240616084938/https://life-bison.com/ Rewilding bison in Romania]
* [http://www.bison-ebcc.eu/bison_data_2014.pdf Distribution and quantity of the European bison in 2014]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923190952/http://www.bison-ebcc.eu/bison_data_2014.pdf |date=23 September 2015 }} (PDF; 213&nbsp;kB)

{{Artiodactyla|R.4}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q81091}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:European bison| ]]
[[Category:Bison|;]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1758]]
[[Category:Mammals of Europe]]
[[Category:Near threatened animals]]
[[Category:Near threatened biota of Europe]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]