Brookfield Zoo is also a former holder; they won the 1984 AZA Propagator's Certificate for their work with Wisent. San Diego was the last holder I knew of.
European Bison news
- Thread starter Jurek7
- Start date
Here is the information from the EPPB about the European Bison in the Americas:
https://bpn.com.pl/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=183&Itemid=
https://bpn.com.pl/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=183&Itemid=
New edition of European Bison Pedigree Book for end 2022 is online:
Bialowieski Park Narodowy - European Bison Pedigree Book 2022
There is also a beta version of an app, which allows identifying pedigree of every European Bison in the world, how inbred it is etc:
EBPB online | European Bison Pedigree Book
I wonder sometimes, how reliable these pedigrees are? Especially decades ago, founder information was not so easy to check, and errors can propagate forever...
Optimistically, number of Wisents passed 10,000 for the first time in at least 200 years. Even free-living herds in Ukraine increased slightly, despite the war, and the information could be included in the book.
Bialowieski Park Narodowy - European Bison Pedigree Book 2022
There is also a beta version of an app, which allows identifying pedigree of every European Bison in the world, how inbred it is etc:
EBPB online | European Bison Pedigree Book
I wonder sometimes, how reliable these pedigrees are? Especially decades ago, founder information was not so easy to check, and errors can propagate forever...
Optimistically, number of Wisents passed 10,000 for the first time in at least 200 years. Even free-living herds in Ukraine increased slightly, despite the war, and the information could be included in the book.
Bureaucrats vs European bison. Holland, Poland and Spain alarm that wild wisents in reserves are seriously harmed by Animal Health Law (AHL) which came into force in April 2022:
“Following the obligations of this European law means catching and treating wisents way too often (i.e. handling wisents as domestic cattle). It means putting ear tags on, already within 20 days after birth. It means proofing parental inheritance almost immediately after a calf is born. It means replacing missing ear tags and sedating the wisent with all the associated risks. Ear tags are a sign of domestication, thus the presence of them on wild animals like the wisent might have a negative effect on how humans interact with the species. ”
https://konferencja.smz.waw.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sto_lat.pdf
“Following the obligations of this European law means catching and treating wisents way too often (i.e. handling wisents as domestic cattle). It means putting ear tags on, already within 20 days after birth. It means proofing parental inheritance almost immediately after a calf is born. It means replacing missing ear tags and sedating the wisent with all the associated risks. Ear tags are a sign of domestication, thus the presence of them on wild animals like the wisent might have a negative effect on how humans interact with the species. ”
https://konferencja.smz.waw.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sto_lat.pdf
@Jurek7 Do you know how realistic is reintroduction of wisents into SW Poland or elsewhere in Silesia? Czechia will probably never allow reintroduction of wisents (outside of enclosed areas) so we would need Polish wisents to immigrate on their own over the border. Is there any plan in place?
Here is a map I found of wild wisent counted in Poland. No herd anywhere near our border.
Regarding captive wisent herds in large enclosures. A new herd has been started this year in Lipno in southern Czechia. It´s land owned by a agricultural company that invests in tourismus and has also Exmoor ponies, mouflons and red deer in huge pens - the wisent pen used to be a golf course in the past. They aim to transport 5 wisents, one of them will come from Zoopark Chomutov.
Here is a map I found of wild wisent counted in Poland. No herd anywhere near our border.
Regarding captive wisent herds in large enclosures. A new herd has been started this year in Lipno in southern Czechia. It´s land owned by a agricultural company that invests in tourismus and has also Exmoor ponies, mouflons and red deer in huge pens - the wisent pen used to be a golf course in the past. They aim to transport 5 wisents, one of them will come from Zoopark Chomutov.
@Jana - unfortunately, there are no such plans. Forests in south-western Poland are relatively small and not close to Czech border, which makes it unlikely that the bison could be reintroduced or might migrate to Czechia.
Perhaps, bison could be released in a large walk-though fenced reserve in Czechia, perhaps in some forest or meadowland nature reserve or military area? After some years, when local people become accustomed to the presence of bison, young would be released free?
Perhaps, bison could be released in a large walk-though fenced reserve in Czechia, perhaps in some forest or meadowland nature reserve or military area? After some years, when local people become accustomed to the presence of bison, young would be released free?
SusScrofa
Well-Known Member
Since the topic of European Bison in North America was bought up in previous pages..
There is a hunting ranch in Nebraska called White Elk Ranch that claims to have European Bison. I've only heard of this place because it has an unused tag and gallery on zoochat. The owner claims to have the "only herd of European Bison" on the main page.
About Us
The bison can apparently be bought through live sales as well.
Live Sales
What is the story with this place and their supposed bison? Where would a hunting ranch get a hold of these from anyways? Seems fishy.
There is a hunting ranch in Nebraska called White Elk Ranch that claims to have European Bison. I've only heard of this place because it has an unused tag and gallery on zoochat. The owner claims to have the "only herd of European Bison" on the main page.
About Us
The bison can apparently be bought through live sales as well.
Live Sales
What is the story with this place and their supposed bison? Where would a hunting ranch get a hold of these from anyways? Seems fishy.
Grant's Farm, a relatively obscure zoo near Saint Louis, also has some claimed European Bison which they probably bought from this place.
It seems as if these facilities can get ahold of any hoofstock they might want. Heaven knows how.
That oganisation is called Česká Krajina here. In Milovice (was a huge former Russian military camp with their main command post and whole Russian city with schools etc behind a fence where locals coudnt enter - we managed to kick Russian occupants out of our country only in 1991) they keep wisents, Exmoor ponies and Tauros domestic cattle. They have two pens there, each over 100 hectares. That area around the pens is littered with unexploded munition and some soil is soaked by petrol or dangerous chemicals so it´s not suitable for normal agriculture or housing development.
They have no ambition to ever rewild any of their wisents. All their animals are "caged", get drinking water delivered and are under vet care. But they offer their offspring of all 3 hoofstock species to other places and organisations in Czechia that build similar projects elsewere (usually on smaller scale and most are interested only in ponies and cattle) - there are at least 12 now and several new ones are built every year. They are built on marginal land of former meadows that are not economical to mow anymore.
Germany has over 20 such former Soviet military grounds or 'Truppenübungsplatze', some gigantic, over 200km2 of area. They, too, never returned to any economic use and are nature reserves. To my knowledge they are not actually closed to visiting. Actually, I find it fascinating that in the center of Europe exist forgotten places 100s of square kms in area with practically no human activity.
There were loose plans to release Wisents in one of them, Wittstock, but they never materialized.Another, Döberitzer Heide, has an enclosed area with 100 Wisents, wild-like cattle and males of Przewalski horses.
I wonder if it is possible to return to the idea of releasing Wisents in one of these former military grounds in Germany? Especially that over 30 years after the departure of Soviet Army, these areas are permanently unused. There were originally concerns about bisons dying from unexploded munitions, but I think they are invalid, given that these areas became haven to other wild animals, like deer, wild boar and recently wolves.
Döberitzer Heide – Wikipedia
Truppenübungsplatz Wittstock – Wikipedia
There were loose plans to release Wisents in one of them, Wittstock, but they never materialized.Another, Döberitzer Heide, has an enclosed area with 100 Wisents, wild-like cattle and males of Przewalski horses.
I wonder if it is possible to return to the idea of releasing Wisents in one of these former military grounds in Germany? Especially that over 30 years after the departure of Soviet Army, these areas are permanently unused. There were originally concerns about bisons dying from unexploded munitions, but I think they are invalid, given that these areas became haven to other wild animals, like deer, wild boar and recently wolves.
Döberitzer Heide – Wikipedia
Truppenübungsplatz Wittstock – Wikipedia
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Wisp O' Mist
Well-Known Member
White Elk Ranch sold off it's herd of Wisents years ago. The website is just hilariously outdated. (The copyright reads from 1995-2016.)
Source: European Bison
(At the very bottom of the page.)
Edit: I found out where the former White Elk Ranch Wisent herd originated from!
According to this - https://bpn.com.pl/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=121&Itemid=
Tad Puckett received his Wisents in 2009, from Don Shadow. You know, of Shadow Nursery?
Putting that together with what Allaboutbison.com says about the herd, Shadow Nursery got the Wisents from the National Zoo sometime in the mid-90's. No idea if National Zoo was the original importer from Europe.
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SusScrofa
Well-Known Member
Thank you for all that information! So its safe to assume there are no European Bison in NA outside of the Canadian herd?
Grant's Farm supposedly has some.
SusScrofa
Well-Known Member
Have you seen them by any chance? I can't seem to find any info on Grant's Farm having any from online searches. There are also no photos on zoochat or even google of any European Bison from there.
EDIT: Checked Grant's Farms most recent USDA report (06/2023) and no mention of them. I think its safe to assume whatever supposed European Bison they have are definitely not present anymore if they've ever been.
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Wisp O' Mist
Well-Known Member
Hey, no problem! I love bison as a species, and that definitely extends to the European subspecies! I saw a herd of Wisent in the flesh at Knowsley Safari Park a few years back, when I happened to be in the UK attending a relatives' wedding. I about jumped out of my car in excitement upon spotting them!
I learned sometime after that trip that a small number of Wisents had been imported to North America, so naturally, I've been gathering information on them ever since. Unfortunately, the majority of what seems to be available online is already noted elsewhere on this thread.
I truly suspect that the hybrid herd at Silvertine are the last remnants of the North American population of Wisents. The importation(/s?) appears to have been done just for the hell of it? Certainly no real planning with regards to management of the animals after they set foot on in New World appears to have been in place.
It seems like the original importing zoos eventually got tired of dealing with them and simply sent them on their way? To other zoos? To the private sector? To hunters & ranchers? Who knows! The order in which the Wisent population in North America moved from facility to facility, to owner to owner isn't always clear thanks to how sparse and widely scattered available information is.
But don't just take my word for it, contact the guy who runs the Allaboutbison website if you want to be absolutely certain. That man is the frigging guru when it comes to all things bison. I've found all sorts of interesting nuggets of info on his website that I've never been able to find anywhere else!