​After the First World War, there were only 12 bison in the world. Hunting, as well as habitat destruction, have brought the species to the brink of extinction. In Romania, the last wild bison was certified in 1790, more than 200 years ago. Romanians could still see this species in nature reserves or zoos. However, over the past 30 years, Romania, as well as many European countries, have made enormous efforts to restore the species. Today, there are more than 200 bison in the wild in Romania, and the world’s bison population has tripled in the last 20 years to more than 9,100 individuals.

In 2000, there were only 2,864 specimens worldwide, of which 1,669 were in the wild, and they were in only 5 countries: Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine, according to a report published in 2020 by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of nature). Nature). By 2015, bison had been reintroduced into the wild in 5 more countries: Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania.

In 2020, the world population of bison exceeded 9,100 individuals, of which 6,819 are in the wild. Only about 20% of the population is in captivity and 6% in semi-captivity.

In 2020, of the 34 countries with bison populations, Belarus had the largest number with 2,356, followed by Poland with 2,316 and Russia with 1,798. In 2020, Romania had 214 specimens, of which 127 were free, 38 were captive, and the rest were in semi-captivity

How bison reappeared in the Carpathians

Historical data show that bison were last seen in the wild in our country in 1760 in Moldova and in 1790 in Transylvania, and since then bison have disappeared, mainly due to hunting, explained Victoria Donos, communications director of the Carpathian Nature Reserve. foundation, one of the foundations that fought for the restoration of bison freedom in our country in recent years.

After the disappearance, the first pair of bison was brought to Romania in 1958.

“The bison was reintroduced to the fauna of Romania in 1958, almost two centuries after its disappearance, by Romanian foresters who brought two bison from Poland, named Podarec and Polonka. Several bison centers gradually formed, one of them from the Vânători Neamț Natural Park,” Romsilva wrote on his Facebook page earlier this year.

But they were only in captivity, and only since 2003 have attempts been made to return them to nature, in the Vânători Neamț Nature Park.

• “The bison reintroduction project carried out by the Vanatori-Neamts Nature Park administration has been identified as one of the objectives of the park’s management plan since its inception, but the first consistent steps towards bison reintroduction have been made since 2003. .
• The territory where the first release of bison in our country took place on March 22, 2012 – five specimens – belongs to Neamts county. (…)
• In 2016, Vânători Neamț Nature Park was the safe place in the country to meet bison in captivity, in the zoo in Vânători commune (6 bison).
• There were 17 bison and 24 free specimens in semi-captivity at the Bison Management Center of the Vânători Neamț Nature Park Administration. In the spring of 2016, the free population was replenished with 3 more specimens,” reads the page of the nature park.

The program was extended, and in 2023 the National Forest Directorate – Romsilva manages three bison cores in Buchan, Haceg and Vanatori-Nämts with a total herd of more than a hundred specimens.

Since 2013, WWF Romania and Rewilding Europe have started a similar program to restore wild bison in the Sharku and Poiana Rusca mountains.

WWF’s first two bison releases took place in 2014 and 2015, then continued in June 2016 and April 2017, when the free-roaming bison population in these areas reached 30 individuals. In May 2018, another 23 bison were released in two areas of the southern Carpathians, and in 2019 another 11. According to the website, there are more than 65 bison in the wild, and 20 cubs were born in the wild.

Since 2019, another foundation, Conservation Carpathia, has continued efforts to return bison to the wild, this time in the Fegarash Mountains.

Since 2019, 36 bison have been reintroduced into the wild in the Lerești and Bunea regions as part of the bison reintroduction program run by the Conservation Carpathia Foundation, with 22 more to join this spring. They are in three acclimatization units, namely: 12 in Nuxoari, 5 in Bun and 5 in Lerest, and they are to be released in May. The ultimate goal of the project is to release 75 specimens by mid-2024. So far, 8 cubs have been born in the wild.

Efforts to reintroduce bison are very large because all specimens today are descended from the 12 specimens that existed after the First World War.

• “The selection of animals is very important, because bison is a species that at some point due to human activities declined and was on the way to extinction. After the First World War, there were 12 specimens, from which almost the entire population that we have today has been restored.
• This year marks the 100th anniversary of the decision to restore the species based on captive specimens. One Pole had this idea and since then efforts have been made, most European countries that had bison in captivity, in zoos, agreed with this idea and started breeding processes to release the products into the wild. This was considered the only viable solution for the return of the species.
• Inbreeding is a big problem for researchers and for those who run captive breeding programs, and it’s a lot of effort to sample so that we have animals with as much genetic variability as possible,” explained Adrian Aldea, species introduction manager at Carpathian Conservation Fund, for HotNews.ro.

Then it is difficult to find available copies. The bison, brought to Nukshoara last November and released soon after, come from Sweden, Slovakia and Germany.

“It’s quite difficult to find those animals that are available and that also have a sufficient genetic base to be able to be reintroduced. There is a pedigree book of the breed. It is managed by the European Bison Conservation Center in Poland, and all bison currently in captivity are registered there. For those in the wild, the numbers are approximate, but we can’t have genetic ancestry. We analyze each bison, see what ancestors it has, and that’s how we make the selection,” explained Aldea.

When finally available and compatible with the released specimens are found, they are first placed in a quarantine pen for 30 days in the area where they will be introduced, and then released into a giant pen, such as the 76 ha off Nuxoara, to house native species and wildlife.

• “We started building the squad last spring. The first bison arrived in Nukshoar since November. The strategy is to keep them in the acclimatization period, because they come from different environments, from kennels, from reserves, from different countries and change their environment, sure that the acclimatization period is necessary.
• We keep them until the beginning of vegetation, after which we release them. The aviary has an area of ​​76 hectares. It is built to cover most of the habitats they naturally visit, so that during the acclimatization period they can recover their wild animal skills, learn to forage, come into contact with elements of the native fauna, possibly predators, a social structure is established within groups, a certain hierarchy, because they are herd animals.
• The enclosure has a fence consisting of an electric fence made of four wires, so that local fauna can enter and exit and the bison can stay inside until they are released,” Aldea explained.

Victoria Donos, director of communications for Conservation Carpathia, says that where bison have been reintroduced into the wild, they are a source of pride for local communities and can be the basis of sustainable economic development in those areas.

• “Thanks to our project, in 2019, the bison arrived in the Pekineagu lake area, Rukar commune, at the Bunea reintroduction point. The second group and point of reintroduction was in Lereşti, where we believe that the bison have quite an important impact on the society, because Kampulung and Lereşti, being quite close to this area, people are very proud that we brought bison there and also to the fact that it develops various fields of tourism, ecotourism, for example, the football team from Lerești has changed its name and is called “Zimbrul Lerești”.
• Once wild bison communities are stabilized, certain projects can be developed that will bring economic benefits to local communities. In order for people to come to see the bison, you can develop various educational projects, various events,” explained Victoria Donos.

About the bison

Considered the largest land mammal in Europe, the bison is a herbivore with a very varied diet, spending up to 80% of its day on food. Thus, bison play an important role in biodiversity conservation by maintaining the balance between forest and grassland ecosystems, grasslands and forests are maintained through their grazing.

Bison can reach 920 kilograms, and females weigh less, from 320 to 640 kg. Males live alone, while free-ranging female bison live in herds with their young until they reach maturity.

The bison was considered a vulnerable species until 2020, but thanks to the efforts of reintroduction programs, it has overcome that status and is now a “near threatened” species, so it has been upgraded. Conservation measures are still needed, and the more reintroduction initiatives the better, experts say.