Kazimierz Szczerkowski and Jan Żabiński, promoters of European bison restitution by zoos

Abstract

Kazimierz Szczerkowski (1877–1952) – teacher, respected director of the Zoo in Poznań in 1922–1940, deputy director after the World War II. He was an authority among German zoo directors and participated in their annual meetings. He was a pioneer of the idea to restitute the European bison after its extinction in the wild based on breeding in zoological gardens.

Dr. Jan Żabiński (1897–1974) – respected director of the Zoological Garden in Warsaw in 1930–1951, coordinator of the transport of European bison from Sweden and Germany (including the main bull, Borusse) to the newly created reserve in the Białowieska Forest and the keeping of hybrids taken from breeding in the Warsaw ZOO. Member and from 1934 President of the Board of the Polish ISPEB branch (also after 1945) and from 1938 Vice-President of the Main Board elected at the Congress in Berlin