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bison bonasus - latina
zimbru - romana
The Wisent, Zubr, or European Bison (Bison bonasus) (pronounced /ˈviːzənt/) is a bison species and the heaviest land animal in Europe. A typical wisent is about 2.9 m (9.5 ft) long and 1.8–2.2 m (5.9–7.4 ft) tall, and weighs 300–920 kg (660–2000 lb). It is typically smaller than the related American bison (B. bison), and has shorter hair on the neck, head, and forequarters, but longer tail and horns. Wisents are forest-dwelling. They have few predators (besides humans) with only scattered reports from the 1800s of wolf and bear predation. Wisents were first scientifically described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. Some later descriptions treat the wisent as conspecific with the American bison. It is not to be confused with the aurochs.
The species is now a critically endangered species. In the past it was commonly killed to produce hides and drinking horns, especially during the Middle Ages.
About 2000 years ago, wisents lived throughout most of Europe - from Britain in the west, to Siberia in the east, and from Spain in the south, to Sweden in the north. Wisents lived not only in forests but also roamed grasslands.
In Western Europe, wisents became extinct by the 11th century, except in the Ardennes, where they lasted into the 14th century. The last wisent in Transylvania died in 1790.
In the east, wisent were legally the property of the Polish kings, Lithuanian grand dukes and Russian czars. King Sigismund I of Poland instituted the death penalty for poaching a wisent in the mid-16th century (although probably for his own benefit). Despite these measures, and others, the wisent population continued to decline over the following four centuries. By the 17th century, the last remaining herds of bison could be found in protected game reserves in the Bialowieza Forest of Poland. Thanks to protection measures, the bison number increased to 1,898 by the middle of 19th century. However, in 1862, a rebellion in the Bialowieza region resulted in the bison herd being virtually decimated. There were about 380 animals left by the end of the 19th century, and this number increased again, with 785 animals being recorded in 1915. Unfortunately, these bison became victims of the Great War, when German troops occupying Bialowieza killed about 600 of the animals for meat, hides, and horns. A German scientist brought to the attention of army officers that the animals were facing imminent extinction, but, at the very end of the war, retreating German soldiers shot all but 9 wisents.
Nearly 4 years later, 54 wisents were recorded in zoos and private holdings, and scientists and ecologists from Sweden, Germany, the UK, and Poland decided to create the Society for the Protection of the European Bison. However, the last wild wisent in Poland was killed in 1919, and the last wild wisent in the world was killed by poachers in 1927, in the Western Caucasus. [1] By later that year fewer than 50 remained, all in zoos. In 1929, Poland bought 2 cows from Sweden, and a bull from Germany. Wisents returned to the Bialowieza Forest, but remained in breeding stations. The first calf was born in the following year.
Wisents were reintroduced successfully into the wild beginning in 1951. They are found living free-ranging in forest preserves like Western Caucasus in Russia and Białowieża Forest in Poland and Belarus. Unfortunately, this forest is divided by a security fence separating Belarus from Poland (forming now part of the eastern border of the European Union, after Poland joined it in 2004; this border is strictly guarded to prevent illegal immigration). The wisent on either side of this barrier are genetically isolated from each other. Free-ranging herds are found in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan and since 2006 in Moldova. There are plans to re-introduce two herds in northern Germany [source; locations ?]. Zoos in 30 countries also have quite a few animals. There were 3000 individuals as of 2000, all descended from only 12 individuals. Because of their limited genetic pool, they are considered highly vulnerable to diseases like foot and mouth disease.
Wisents are now found in the 30km exclusion zone around Chernobyl. There have been reports that the benefits of removing people from the zone have far outweighed any harm from radiation.[1] However, scientific studies have contradicted this, stating the levels of radiation are having a damaging effect on the wildlife.[2]
In 1996 the IUCN classified the wisent as endangered.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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