Bonnie baby bison

30/06/2016 in Highland Wildlife Park

Keepers at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park are pleased to announce the birth of two European bison calves in its herd in the main drive-through reserve. These calves will play an important role in the conservation of this species and it is hoped that they will eventually be reintroduced into part of the species historical range in eastern Europe.

The calves, one male and one female, were both born on 13 May to mums Glen Esk and Glen Isla. Keepers have yet to name the fluffy new-borns but they will continue the Scottish glens theme, in line with other bison born at the Park.

Douglas Richardson, Head of Living Collections at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park, said: “The two youngsters are getting on well and will go on to play a vital role in the ex-situ conservation of this large species. Glen Rosa – a female that was born here 4 years ago – was transported to Romania in 2014 as part of the reintroduction programme. We hope to be transporting a larger group of our bison to Romania later this year. 

“All of our bison are part of the international breeding programme and we currently have the largest herd of European bison in the UK with 22 animals in the group. We also manage the European breeding programme for the species. European bison are a conservation success story as they went extinct in the wild in 1927. At that time only 54 bison were left in zoos, but as a result of the captive breeding programme we have been able to reintroduce them back into the wild.”

European bison are similar in appearance to American bison, although they are smaller in size. Bison have a thickset body shape, short neck and pronounced shoulder hump. Bison previously roamed throughout western, central and eastern Europe, but by 1927 the species was completely extinct in the wild. The species has since been successfully reintroduced into the wild in Belarus, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, the Ukraine, Romania and Slovakia. The European bison is currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. 

The herd of bison and the calves can be seen in the main drive through reserve at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park.

 * Photo by Alex Riddell

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