European Bison Conservation Newsletter

The role of commercial bison production in conservation strategies in Canada

2023-06-30T16:28:33+02:00

In Canada, numerous actors manage bison (Bison bison) and assist in population restoration after bisons’ near extinction in the late 19^th century. The largest number of bison in Canada are managed by commercial bison farms. This research maps commercial bison farms and bison livestock as reported by the 2021 Census of Agriculture in Canada. The dispersion of commercial bison on the landscape depicts their important contribution to species restoration in Canada. Commercial bison producers, wildlife conservationists, and Indigenous communities need to be included to ensure full breadth of species restoration, especially at the landscape level.

The enzootic balanoposthitis

2023-11-06T10:57:55+01:00

In 2021, the Podplud bull was treated at the Pszczyna-Jankowice European Bison Breeding Center for necrotic balanoposthitis (NZN). Treatment reduced clinical symptoms. Another case of NZN was noted in 2022 in the bull Ponse, which had purulent necrotic lesions and sepsis caused by the bacterium Trueperella pyogenes during post-mortem treatment. Further observations in multiple bulls confirmed the disease.Twenty-three bulls were immobilized, a clinical examination was performed, swabs were collected for bacteriologic examination. Based on the results of these examinations, seven animals were eliminated. Post-mortem examinations bring anatomical-pathological changes to the development of severity and a variable proportion of pathogenic bacteria.

Do we still need more wisents in Poland?

2023-10-27T15:15:12+02:00

Following the rapid growth of wisent (European bison) Bison bonasus L. population in Poland from 783 animals in 2001 to 2603 in 2022, the question has appeared whether the country with the largest population of this species in the world, may still accept further increase of its numbers. Problems that are connected with the presence of free ranging wisents belong to three categories: eeconomical – damages to agriculture and forestry, public safety – traffic accidents and aggressive individuals, and the health risk – possible transmission of pathogens to the livestock. However there also several benefits resulting from the existence of wisents in the wild. The species is an important component of natural ecosystems, its existence is an excellent example of successful conservation, the wisent is an attractive symbol for educational programs, and its growing populations can be a source of animals for further reintroductions. Possible solutions of the problem include: mitigation of economic costs and slowing down the population growth, and a dispersal of wisent herds into suitable habitat patches, allowing to manage them as metapopulation. Therefore, further growth of wisent population in Poland is still acceptable, however, the conservation and management of this species in the future have to be focused upon its social acceptation and avoiding possible fields of conflict.

The impact of Russian military aggression on Ukrainian subpopulations of the European bison

2023-06-08T19:13:55+02:00

The impact of Russian occupation on some bison locations in Ukraine is analyzed. It was found out that active military actions in the north of Kyiv region in March 2022 led to a critical decrease of animal number in Zalisianska bison subpopulation in Zalissia National Nature Park to 14 animals from 21 in 2021; moreover, no males left in this herd. The reasons for such a decrease are caused by both the effects of mines and explosive devices and the stress factors (sounds and flashes of explosions, low-flying aircraft, movement of machinery, etc.). The location of Konotopska bison subpopulation on the territory of Konotop State Forestry (Sumy region) being occupied at the same period of time wasn’t impacted so much as no large-scale military actions took place here. Movement of Russian military machinery along the forest roads only just led to the temporary abandonment of the bison's common feeding habitats and resulted in the absolute absence of offspring in 2022 due to the stress. The war in general and occupation of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone by Russian troops in particular, negatively influenced on the realization of ambitious EBFS-WWF bison re-introduction project, which has been postponed.

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

2023-10-27T16:08:29+02:00

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.

The merits of Władysław Janta-Połczyński in the restitution of European bison in Poland

2023-10-27T11:32:45+02:00

Who was Władysław Janta-Połczyński? For Wielkopolska he is a personality with great merits. Landowner, patriot, social worker, writer, excellent organizer, patron of the culture and also a hunter. Editor-in-chief of several hunting magazines and a columnist. He was a co-initiator of the reintroduction of beavers in Wielkopolska and the first chairman of the board of the Polish branch of the International Society for the Protection of European Bison.

European bison restitution breeding center of the Białowieża National Park in the years 1929–1952 , or about the return of the king of the forest to the motherland

2023-10-30T19:59:11+01:00

The idea of reintroducing the European bison to the Białowieska Forest originated in the early 1920s in hunting circles that were at the same time fascinated by the protection of native wildlife. One idea, behind which was the state apparatus of the “young Poland”, was the creation of a state representative hunting ground in the Białowieska Forest. The other, behind which stood the Polish Hunting Association in Poznań, was the desire to lease a part of the forest and save the European bison within the framework of a hunting company, founded and financed by private persons.

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

2023-10-30T20:25:28+01:00

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

Founding and the first years of the “Wisentgehege Springe” as a project of the International Society for the Protection of the European Bison

2023-10-30T20:30:59+01:00

Already in 1924, one year after the foundation of the International Society for the Protection of the European Bison, a first plan for a German wisent national reserve was initiated by Lutz Heck from the Berlin Zoo. In 1926, a first meeting was held to plan a wisent conservation park. The meeting took place on September 14 at the Berlin Zoo. Today, 100 years after the foundation of the International Society for the Protection of European Bison, the “Wisentgehege Springe” can look back on 390 wisent births.

The origins of the Swedish European bison breeding

2023-10-30T20:36:00+01:00

The story of the Avesta Breeding Center begins on Saturday, September 8, 1923. The Consul General Axel Ax:son Johnson was invited to dinner at the home of a good friend. In his pocket he had the newspaper, which that day contained an article about the ”International Society for the Protection of the European Bison”, newly founded in August 1923. And he had also read about Sztolcman’s appeal, which took place in Paris on June 2, 1923. His host at that dinner was none other than the newly appointed vice president of the Society. At the time was the world famous Alarik Behm, curator at Skansen in Stockholm. In November 1923, the construction of the wisent enclosure in Långsjön
was started...