Panchronia

European bison return to the wild

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1952 · Białowieża Forest · Eastern Europe & Russia · Nature

A species saved only in captivity roams Białowieża again

European bison return to the wild
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The last wild bison of Białowieża was shot in 1921 and the last Caucasian one in 1927, leaving the species only in zoos and estates. Breeders rebuilt the herd from a few dozen animals, and in 1952 the first bison were released into Białowieża Forest.

State: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Did you know

The last wild European bison was killed in the Caucasus in 1927. In 1952 bison were released into the wild again at Białowieża, descended from about a dozen zoo animals.

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