▎From endangered to vulnerable, what has European bison experienced?
Author/Zhang Tao Rahan
In the bovid family, there is an animal that dominates the European continent with its strong body, strong muscles and super heavyweight. They are the European bison.
European bisons are majestic and muscular. Their towering backs are like steel ridges, and their heads are like shining steel forks. The straight four-legged steel nails step on the solid ground. Vitality contains power that we can hardly reach.
Figure 01: European bison has a strong body
hunting, breeding, cooking, leather, and literature, painting, art... European bison has been widely active in human society. Of all aspects. Their bodies full of power, like perfect ancient Greek statues, are extremely totemistic and symbolic, and are really loved by us.
The European bison, once shining in history, has fallen into the altar. Their populations and living conditions are like a roller coaster, they experience continuous and fatal rapid declines after soaring to the sky, and even come to the bottom of the valley, almost endangered and extinct!
What have they experienced with their twists and turns?
Figure 02: Let us walk into the story of the European bison~
Europe’s heaviest terrestrial creature _p2110 pbr _p2110 pbrThe scientific name Bison bonasus is a species of the same name belonging to the genus Bovidae under the order Artiodactyla. It was named and classified by Sir Carl Linnaeus, the "father of taxonomy" in 1758.
They are one of the only two species in the genus Bison, and they are closely related to American bison . Adult European bison, with a body length of about 2.9-3 meters, a shoulder height of about 1.8-2 meters, and a weight of up to 300-1000 kg, is generally considered to be the heaviest land animal in Europe.
European bison is covered with golden brown, dark brown, tan, and black hair. They have a broad forehead, a towering back like a mountain, and the front half of the body is huge, which is the center of gravity of the entire body.
Figure 03: A young European bison (male)
Their stubby neck muscles are strong, connecting and driving the solid skull and the sharp horns. When two males compete for females during the breeding season, the male bison looks at each other, catching each other and killing each other.
I saw their skulls colliding with each other, leaning on the top of the sharp corners to stab each other, the vacant front legs are like rising springs, and the strong hind legs are like powerful engines, providing them with a forward jump to the top and leaning down. Waiting for the pleasing and fierce fighting stunts at the same time.
Figure 04: Wherever the European bison stops, it will be aggressive
Although we often live wild in the wild p2
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1 Seeing the world away from home,There are solitary bulls wandering around, but most European bisons are still used to live in groups. Their gregariousness is mainly divided into two types: mixed herds and bull herds.
The number of European bison in a mixed herd is often 8-13, consisting of a bull leader, a cow, young calves aged 2-3 and temporarily joined bulls. The bull herd is composed entirely of bachelors, and the size is smaller than the mixed herd, usually about 1-11.
Figure 05: A mixed herd of bison living in the wild
It is worth mentioning that the mixed herd and the bull herd are not always the same, their size, group size, and membership With the change of region, environment, and seasons, it constantly changes.
is just like the company system. Newly recruited friends will see you every month and old friends will leave every year. This is the so-called iron-fighting battalion. This year, the Bull, who is still serving as an official and a half official in the mixed group, may be sealed off next year to become a wanderer.
Figure 06: A stray bull that forages alone in winter
The super heavyweight herbivore
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0 is worth mentioning. Heavyweight herbivore, European bison especially likes the crisp taste of plant shoots, and also likes leaves that are rich in moisture and nutrients.
Thanks to their rumen and ruminating habits, European bison will never stop eating. A 1-year-old calf can eat 8.5kg of fresh grass leaves every day,Young cows of 2-3 years old can eat 19-28kg of food a day, and adult cows can eat up to 32kg of food a day!
In a simple human analogy, a person has to eat a full bag of rice of 25kg a day, and then 10 cans of 500g canned meat, which is not too addictive. Another 4 bottles of 450ml white wine will give you a brainstorm. I'm all done! Such a huge appetite scares the baby to death~
Think about it, if you encounter more than 10 European bisons in groups, then the grasslands and bushes on their way will not be eaten. No hair left! After all, an appetite of 32kg/ox/day is by no means a general.
Figure 07: European bison rumination with blue tongue
The history of European bison that inhabited Europe in history_hp5pbr_p8 In the vast area, the population is quite large, just like the American bison before the geological discovery era. Their habitat extends from the central plateau of France to Volga River and Caucasus Mountains , and may have included parts of Russia east of Ural Mountains .
They are Belarus , or even the largest wild animals in Eastern Europe. With its huge body and powerful muscle deterrence, the European bison flies smoothly in the local area. There are only two natural enemies of wolves and bears.
Figure 08: Two bulls in a duel
But as the number of humans grows,Forests have been cut down and destroyed, and the habitat of the European bison is gradually shrinking. In the medieval period when Viking pirates were rampant and conquered endlessly, they were often hunted for their high-quality fur and horns. People made their fur into leather and sweaters, cut off their horns, and hollowed them out to make exquisite corner cups.
in Balkan region , the latest record of European bison appeared in the 3rd century AD, in Greece, North Macedonia Republic and Bulgaria near the junction of Gaul , European bison The population became extinct in the 8th century.
In Ardennes and Vosges Mountains, European bison went extinct in the wild in the 15th century. In Transylvania (now Romania ), the last wild bison died in 1790.
Figure 09: Newborn calf
In Eastern Europe, European bison has always been a concern. They are the property of the Polish monarchs, Lithuania monarchs, and Russian monarchs, and are protected by national laws. King Sigmund I of Poland issued such a decree in the middle of the 16th century: "All European bison poachers are lowly thieves who despise the laws of the royal family and should be sentenced to death!".
Despite the king’s strong support and a series of measures that rose to the legal level to protect, the number of European bison continued to plummet over the next four centuries.
The last wild European bison in Poland was killed in 1919, and the last wild European bison in the world was killed by a butcher in 1927 in the Western Caucasus. There were less than 50 European bison of that era, all of which were kept in zoos.
Figure 10: European bison
that was released into the wild and marked with a number
. Wild European bison began to slowly recuperate in the game reserve of various countries, but they only appeared in the Western Caucasus, Russia, Poland, and Belarus.
Interspersed, people in Central and Eastern Europe love this sturdy and powerful animal very much. The Soviet Union even issued a set of stamps with European bison as the theme in 1969. Russia, Belarus, and Romania also successively European bison stamps have been issued, and their love for this cow is evident.
Figure 11: European bison stamps issued by the Soviet Union
img13 img13 img13 pspan0 pspan_img13 European bison commemorative stamps issued by Russia in conjunction with WWF
Figure 14: European bison stamps issued by Romania in 2019
has designated European bison as endangered species since 1996Various countries have introduced active conservation plans for artificial breeding and wild release of European bison. In 2000, the European bison populations around the world began to slowly recover and steadily rebounded. In addition to being introduced to zoos in more than 30 countries, people have also found herds in Central and Eastern European countries such as Lithuania, Ukraine, , Kyrgyzstan, etc. A herd of bison.
The living conditions of the European bison are still in danger
In 2008, IUCN finally classified the European bison from an endangered species to an endangered species. Although from the current point of view, their living conditions have been improved and gradually stabilized.
However, in fact, there are still a large part of European bison communities in poor condition in the wild, and their populations continue to decline. From a practical perspective, they have not completely got rid of the endangered situation in the past.
Figure 15: Bison herd in the ice and snow
We live in a complex world that is interconnected and interacts with each other.
All the measures we have taken against the European bison: such as continuous and active conservation work, severe crackdowns on illegal poaching, and media statements that advocate care and attention... Every action in every link is crucial , Will have a huge impact on the future survival of European bison.
Figure 16: Let's pay more attention to and care for the European bison
*Some pictures in this article are only for the purpose of European bison _Bpison bonas _Bpison 2 All the pictures in this article are from the Internet. If the rights of the owner are violated, I am solemnly sorry and will be deleted quickly The original author of this article/Zhang Tao Lahan丨Writing is not easy to reprint without authorization © 2021 Zhang Tao Rahan,All Rights Reserve
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