One of the 2 bison on WAnimals
Mammals · Artiodactyla · Bovidae
European Bison
Bison bonasus
Near Threatened
It could become threatened in the near future if current threats go unchecked.
The European bison, or wisent, is the heaviest land mammal in Europe. It became extinct in the wild in 1927, when the last wild animal was shot in the Caucasus, and the entire present population descends from barely twelve animals left in zoological collections. The breeding and reintroduction programme begun in the Białowieża forest, between Poland and Belarus, is one of the great successes of European conservation. Today there are free-ranging herds in several countries, including Spain, where there are semi-wild groups.
Weight
300 kg – 920 kg
Size
2.1 m – 3.5 m
Life expectancy
24 years
