Hungary European Bison
After an almost 230 years absence, a herd of seven European bison (Bison bonasus) are again roaming free on a 70-hectare reservation in western Hungary.
European bison that once populated most of Europe’s forests had been hunted to near-extinction in the early 20th century. The bison of Europe, which had three distinct subspecies, met their end in various ways.
The last wild animals of the B. b. bonasus were shot in the Białowieża Forest (on the Belarus-Poland border) in 1921, and the last of B. b. caucasus in the northwestern Caucasus in 1927. The last animal of the Hungarian subspecies was killed in 1792.
Of the seven animals now roaming free in the reservation, six calves came from a half-free reservation in Slovakia and the bull is on loan from Slovakia’s zoo in the capital of Bratislava.
Their breeding is strictly controlled as the species was restored from a small gene pool of about 50 animals surviving in zoos.
(Bison Roam Free in Hungary ) November 2019 author:VAS MEGYE ONLINE
Bison Ranch Kötcse
I reached out to the ranch for some information’
My husband and I have had these animals since the end of 2010. We left Germany in 2008 with the idea of breeding bisons and settled down on the south side of the Lake Balaton in Hungary. After two years preparation we started with 10 of 1.5 year old females, one year after we got our bull-Benny. Our bison came from Canada, but directly we got them from Germany. At this moment we have 30 of them.
Lovely greetings from Bison Ranch Kötcse / Hungary
The ranch sells meats, hides skulls and live animal.
Nyíregyháza Zoo photos by Palickap
