European Wood Bison : New Study
A new study has warned that the ongoing war in Ukraine could act as a spanner in the works for efforts to save the last remnant of the mega-fauna European wood bison.
- European wood bison:
- It is also known as wisent.
- European bison are the largest and heaviest land mammal in Europe.
- There were formerly three subspecies, although only one (Bison bonasus bonasus) remains – the other two are now extinct.
- It serves an important role as an ecosystem engineer, restoring grassland habitat.
- Conservation status:
- IUCN: Near Threatened
- Rapid environmental change and hunting by humans were the main drivers of the wisent’s extirpation across Europe.
- The scientists found that hunting caused range loss in the north and east of the wisent’s distribution, while land use change was responsible for losses in the west and south.
