Wisent facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wisent |
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| Bison bonasus (Linnaeus, 1758)
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The wisent (or the European bison, Bison bonasus) is a bison species and the heaviest surviving animal in Europe. It is a close relative of the American bison.
Description
Longer legged and less heavily built than its American cousin, the wisent may reach a height of 54 to 60 in. (137–152 cm) at the shoulder, and a weight of more than 1 ton (900 kg). It has brown hair and short upcurved horns. Its hump is less prominent than that of the American bison and its coat less shaggy.
Reproduction
In the wild the wisent is a forest animal; it browses on leaves, ferns, and bark. Females give birth after a gestation period of 9 to 10 months, usually to a single calf. Abundant in Europe in prehistoric times, wisents remained numerous until the early Christian era.
Extinction
Hunted for their meat and displaced from their habitats by farmers, by the 11th cent. they had been reduced to herds numbering but a few hundred animals. By 1927 fewer than 50 remained. Since the foundation of an international protective society in 1932, their numbers have been growing, but they are no longer found outside zoos or forest reserves.
Images for kids
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Side view of a European bison bull
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Bison bull showing tongue colouration
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A specimen of the now-extinct Caucasian subspecies, 1889
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Bison depicted at cave of Altamira
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The wisent is likely a descendant of hybrids between steppe bison and aurochs.
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Adult females with calves
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Skulls of European bison (left) and American bison (right)
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Valchi Dol reserve in Bulgaria
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European bison reserve in Spain, where a reintroduction programme in San Cebrián de Mudá, Castile and León is in place.
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Bison sparring in Russia
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Zubr monument in Hajnówka
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See also
In Spanish: Bisonte europeo para niños
