2008-03-26 09:47

Białowieża bison herd has reached record numbers

Towards the end of 2007 in the Polish part of Białowieża Primeval Forest, there were 439 bison living in the wild, that is 35 more than the year before. The annual bison count has recently ended. Bison are always counted in the winter, when snow has fallen and the animals gather in the dozen or so centres of winter feeding. Single beasts are counted by following their trails. This year, counting was difficult due to limited and scarce snowfall.




Last year, 402 bison were recorded. The director of Białowieża National Park, Małgorzata Karaś informed that 76 bison were born in 2007, which is 20 more than the year before.

The large number of calves stems from the fact that the females give birth cyclically every 2-3 years. 2005 was also a record year, when 79 calves were born.

It is largely the young ones that have caused the change in population in the Polish part of Białowieża forest. Every year, the number of natural deaths is also on a similar level. Some animals are culled and others are transported to other parts of the country or abroad.

Karaś informed that the Minister of the Environment has agreed to the culling of 11 out of 30 bison. The elimination mainly covers old and diseased specimens. Three bison will go to a farmstead in Holland.

Karaś emphasised that the condition of the herd is good and the population is steadily growing. In her view, the large number of bison is not a bad thing.

Scientists are in disagreement in terms of the optimal level of the bison herd in the Polish part of the forest. According to Prof. Wanda Olech, the current level of the herd is too large and is dangerous for the population itself. According to her paper published in 2004, the population should count between 250-270 bison like in the 1960s and 1970s.

According to Olech, the consequence of such a large herd is susceptibility to parasitical diseases and damage caused by bison to trees and fields. In 2007 a programme entitled “Land of the Bison – bison protection in Białowieża Primeval Forest” was established. It was designed to familiarise locals with the species and raise the level of acceptance of bison.

The object of the research is to devise a strategy of protecting this species. One of the programme’s objectives is creating ecological corridors, which will enable bison to move between forest complexes in the neighbourhood of Białowieża.

Białowieża is a centre of reintroducing and breeding bison, known in Poland and abroad. It has both wild bison and bison living in pens.

Wild bison can currently be met in Bieszczady Mountains, Pilskie Forests, Borecka and Knyszyńska Primeval Forests.MWI

PAP – Science and Scholarship in Poland, tr.ajfb

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