Protection and breeding of European bison in the forests of Pszczyna (1865–2022)

Abstract

The article presents the history of the European bison breeding center in Upper Silesia in 1865 and its protection and breeding until 2022. The results of European bison breeding in Pszczyna for this period are summarized on the basis of the available publications and the entries in the European Bison Pedigree Book for the years 1932–2021 and the data of the Kobiór Forest Inspectorate for 2022. The balance of European bison breeding in Pszczyna for the period 1865–2022 is 764 (380, 384) born and 54 (24, 30) imported animals on the income side and 398 (182, 216) dead and 367 (194, 173) exported animals on the expenditure side.
Some guardians of the Pszczyna European bison were mentioned, including Prince Jan
Henryk XI Hochberg. However, the history of the breeding organization in Pszczyna and the biography of the guardians of these animals require separate studies.