Bison habitat on the map. Bison animal (lat.

It belongs to the genus of bison, the subfamily of bovine bovids, the order of artiodactyls. They have earned the title of lord of the forests. The history of the presented animal goes back to ancient times and is striking in its drama. The bison, exterminated to a critical minimum, continues to exist in specially created nurseries, zoos, zoological gardens and forest reserves. Therefore, this type of bison is included in the Red Book. Specialists of reserves and individuals are trying on their own to preserve and save the last individuals of the population. Therefore, there are few places where bison live today, but such closed zones exist.

Distinctive features of the animal

The largest representative of land mammals in Europe, the bison is a descendant of a wild bull. During the Middle Ages, this type of animal lived in forests from east to west throughout Eurasia. Peculiarities:

1. An adult bison reaches up to 1 ton of weight. But the mass can range from 700 to 900 kg.
2. 185-190 cm - the height of the beast.
3. The length of the animal reaches 260-340 cm.

Only the female can be smaller.

The bison has a massive front part of the body. There is a small hump that connects the back and short neck. The back of the body is smaller and seems to be compressed.

The tail has a length of up to 85 cm, it is covered with soft hair. At the end there is a hair bundle, it looks like a small artistic brush. The bison's legs are strong and strong. The convex front hooves are much smaller than the hind hooves.

The broad forehead is very low. Experts confirm that the tail is much higher than the crown of the animal. The black horns are pushed forward and spaced. Their length is about 60 cm, while the collapse of the horns reaches 80 cm.

Large nature reserves in Russia

And now let's look at where the bison lives in Russia, in which reserves. Since the bison is listed in the Red Book, it is almost impossible to meet it in the wild today. But there are a large number of reserves and nurseries in which animals are in the most comfortable environment.

In the Prioksko-Terrasny State Biosphere Reserve (Moscow Region, Serpukhov District), bison are grown, and then they are sent to various regions of Russia, the CIS countries and the Baltic. For the period from the moment of foundation in 1948 to 2009, 328 individuals were grown. Animals are also raised:

1. In the Oksky State Reserve, located in the Ryazan region.
2. Cherginsky nursery in Altai.
3. In the Pleistocene Park (Republic of Yakutia).
4. About 50 individuals live in the Klyazma-Lukhsky reserve (Vladimir region). Animals live almost in the wild.

Animal behavior in the environment

The bison begins to move actively after eating. They are adapted to extreme weather conditions. Hot summer temperatures and harsh winters are not terrible for them. Thick fur protects them from the cold. In winter, the bison can break through the deep snow with its head in order to get the vegetation below.

It is difficult to answer where the bison lives, in what natural zone, since their habitat is reserves and reserves from east to west of Eurasia. Most of the population today is in Russia, in particular, in the Prioksko-Terrasny Biosphere Reserve. In other reserves and sanctuaries, the population is much smaller. Animals are exported from Russia to European countries - Poland, Germany, Slovakia, etc. There are two types of bison:

1. Belovezhsky. Animals are larger, have long legs.
2. Caucasian. This species differs only in that it is smaller in size and the coat is more curly.

The behavior of the modern bison is no different from its predecessors, who lived hundreds of years ago. He is fast, strong and strong, his main task is to protect his own territories. But due to the popularity of wool and horns on the black market, the bison has been included in the list of endangered animal species.

What are the differences between bison and bison?

The American bison is practically no different from the bison. There are some assumptions that talk about their relationship. The bison has a rather high hump, it also differs in shape, the length of the horns and tail is slightly longer. The physique of a bison fits into a square, and that of a bison - into an elongated rectangle. Such a slight difference may not be immediately noticeable. The bison has a long back, and its legs are much shorter.

In hot summer weather, almost the entire back of the bison's body is covered with short hair. From the outside it looks like he's going bald. At the same time, the bison has hair all over its body, regardless of the season and weather. Bison and bison are the same size. But the bison seems more compact and stronger due to the squat. The American bison lives where there are most flat areas.

Reserves in Europe

Abroad, they are also anxious about the conservation of this species of animals. Many individuals were brought to Europe from nurseries located on the territory of Russia and the former countries of the Soviet Union. To date, bison can be found in the following European countries:

1. Ukraine. It was in Kherson in the 30s of the 20th century that several individuals of the wild bison were found. It is only thanks to them that the population is restored.
2. Poland.
3. Germany. Zoologist Jan Stoltzmann founded the International Society for the Protection of Bison in Frankfurt am Main in 1923.
4. Moldova.
5. Slovakia.

Initially, the bison's habitat was in the territory from the Iberian Peninsula to Western Siberia, while England and Scandinavia were included in this list.

Bison nutrition

Where the bison lives, the natural area is filled with greenery. This species feeds on plants - herbaceous and woody. You can find them in a forest clearing or near small rivers. In autumn, they graze mainly on mowed fields, eating the remains of grass. Common tree species in the bison diet:

1. Aspen.
2. Acorn.

They eat thin branches from trees along with leaves, peel off the bark. Answering the question about where the bison lives and in what zone, it is worth noting his favorite places - forest glades.

In specially built nurseries in summer weather bison are fed compound feed several times a day. In winter, hay and succulent feed, chopped beets and carrots are added to the diet. Experts calculated that, on average, one adult female receives 2 kg of compound feed, while a bison receives up to 3-4 kg. They are accustomed to dry food from two months from the moment of birth. Each corral is equipped with salt (lick), mineral additives are added to it.

Why is the bison on the verge of extinction?

Wolves and rod bears are a threat to this animal species. But in most cases, the person is to blame. Bison lives where poachers can easily pass. Due to cutting down and burning of forests, their habitats were destroyed. Unlimited shooting of animals during the First World War led to the fact that by 1927 there were no wild bison left.

But zoos and private estates have kept some of these animals. Breeding bison in parks, forest reserves and zoological gardens has become a purposeful action. After the release of young animals into the wild, the number of bison has increased significantly, and it is likely that soon its population will return to its original value.

Domain: Eukaryotes

Kingdom: Animals

Type: Chordates

Class: Mammals

Detachment: Artiodactyls

Family: Bovid

Genus: Bison

View: Bison

Description

Bison is the largest land mammal in Europe. At present, the size of animals has decreased somewhat compared to the 19th century, and they are inferior in size to wood bison (a subspecies of the American bison). The body weight of modern bison is 300–920 kg, on average about 610 kg. Body length up to 330 cm, sometimes more. The height at the withers is from 1.6 to 2 m. Females are smaller than males.

The front part of the bison's body is very well developed - it is more massive, wider and higher than the back. The abdomen is tucked up and does not sag.

The bison's head is massive, with a wide convex forehead, tilted down. The horns are small, black, rounded, convex, directed by bends to the sides, and ends up, do not change throughout life. The length of the horns along the outer bend is up to 65 cm, the collapse is up to 78 cm.

The ears are short and wide, densely overgrown with hair inside and out. The eyes are small, widely spaced, dark brown, the eyeballs are convex and mobile. The pupils are vertically oblong, narrowed in the middle. Eyelashes are long and thick.

• Lips, tongue and palate are dark, slate-bluish in color.
• Number of teeth - 32. Dental formula - incisors 0/3, canines 0/1, premolars 3/3, molars 3/3.

The bison's neck is powerful, thick, without the drooping dewlap characteristic of many bulls. The legs are strong, thick, the front legs are shorter than the hind legs. The hooves are large, convex. There are also some lateral hooves that do not reach the ground (rudiments). The tail is covered with long hair almost along its entire length, at the end there is a hair tuft.

Bison are completely covered with hair, except for the horns, hooves, the middle of the upper lip and the front edge of the nostrils. Summer color is chestnut-brown, the head is noticeably darker than the body. The beard is black, the mane is light chestnut. In winter, the coat becomes darker and thicker. In young calves, the coat is beige at birth, later - brown with a red tint. Spring molt occurs in mid-May-June.

Among the sense organs of bison, sense of smell and hearing are well developed, vision is somewhat worse. Despite their large stature, bison are able to move quickly, gallop and jump over obstacles up to 2 m high.

Habitat

In the Middle Ages, the bison was distributed throughout Europe. In ancient times, bison hunting was considered a very popular entertainment for noble people - having killed just one animal, one could stock up on meat for a whole year.

The cruel extermination of wild animals led to the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century only a few dozen of them remained in all of Europe.

Specially created nurseries, where nothing threatened their lives, became a real salvation for wild bulls. One of the most famous bison habitats is the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Reserve, located on the territory of Belarus and Poland.

Taking under the protection of European bison, it was possible to increase their number to 3 thousand individuals. They live not only in nurseries, but also in the wild.

You can meet them at:

• Russia,
• Belarus,
• Poland,
• Latvia,
• Lithuania,
• Moldova
• Kyrgyzstan

The main habitats of bison are broad-leaved, deciduous forests and mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, floodplain meadows, where grass cover, undergrowth and undergrowth are well developed. In spring and summer, bison prefer habitats with diverse and abundant herbaceous vegetation. At the end of summer and autumn, these animals most often keep in alder forests and mixed forests (often floodplain) with damp or moist soils, where the unroughened grassy vegetation lasts the longest. In autumn, the placement of bison is confined to habitats, in the forest stand of which there is an oak. Since bison are fed from November to March-April, in winter they concentrate near stationary feeding grounds. In the warm period of the year, bison, if fodder fields are sown for them according to the principle of the so-called. "green conveyor", they are intensively used as pastures.

Character and lifestyle

Those who believe that these animals were reborn from an almost extinct species quite easily are mistaken. It took a lot of selfless and painstaking work of a person who took full responsibility for this species.

It would be difficult for a bison to survive without a human. Although, on the other hand, it is the person who is the main cause of all his troubles. It took scientists a lot of time and patience to study the life and habits of this herd animal. Only old bulls are interested in living alone. At the head of the herd is a female bison with great strength and experience.

Despite the huge and massive size of the bison, it is easy to move around. The animal escapes from danger with the help of a fast gallop, developing about 40 km / h. Such speed is not the limit of the animal's skill. It is not difficult for a bison to jump over a barrier of 2 meters, and he does it from a place.

The strength of the bison is the reason for true legends. Its power is not wasted on trifles. Only moments of danger or rage can provoke her awakening. The rest of the time, the animal shows unprecedented calmness and peacefulness.

He is most active in the morning or evening. Their daytime is taken up by rest, which includes sleeping or taking "sand baths" with tails whipped into dust. The animal shows obvious aggression towards its opponents. At first, he shakes his head, snorts and looks at the enemy with dislike. Then he pounces on him and hits him with all his strength with his horns.

In relation to people, the bison shows extraordinary calmness. He has no fear of them. There are times when some make a sudden lunge forward as if in self-defense. But there are also those among them who come very close to a person, pretending that no one is around. These animals have never broken fences, although it will not be difficult for them to do this.

Only those bison that are in captivity can behave this way. Free animals prefer to exercise great caution. They try to move a long distance from a person. Most of all, people should be wary of the female, next to which her baby is located. At such moments, she is able to destroy everything, destroy and kill, protecting him.

No matter how good-natured bison are, when meeting with them, great care must be taken, because although this is a calm animal, it still belongs to the category of wild ones.

Diet, what do bison eat?

In the spring-summer period, European bison prefer to live in places characterized by diversity and a large amount of herbaceous vegetation. In the last summer decade and with the onset of autumn, artiodactyl animals, as a rule, keep in mixed forest floodplain zones and alder forests, which have damp or moist soils that contribute to the longest possible preservation of non-roughened herbaceous vegetation.

In the late autumn period, European bison prefer places where the forest stand is characterized by the presence of a large number of oaks. In winter, artiodactyl animals concentrate in close proximity to stationary feeding grounds.

With the onset of spring heat, large fodder fields are sown for bison, where the “green conveyor” principle is used.

reproduction

The mating season starts at the end of July and lasts until September. Males come to the herd to the females, drive away the young calves, and begin courtship. Fights between bulls are not uncommon, they fight fiercely. The defeated one leaves with nothing, but the hero will have to continue courting the female. Her pregnancy lasts 9 months.

By the time of calving, she goes to a secluded place, where one light beige calf is born, weighing up to 25 kg.

As expected, his mother licks him, they exchange information of smells. Having rested, the cub rises to its feet and drinks mother's fat milk. After 1 - 1.5 hours can follow her. They will return to the herd in a few days. Everyone will get to know the new member of the group, but the calf will clearly know by smell where its mother is.

The first plant food will try at the age of three weeks. He will feed on his mother's milk for up to a year. Small calves play with each other, repeat and copy the movements of adults. For them, this is important information and skills to live in a beautiful, wild, but not simple world. In the herd, calves live up to three years.

natural enemies

As such, natural enemies in adults and mature individuals of the European bison are almost completely absent, but wolf packs can be of particular danger to young people. In accordance with statistical data and long-term observations, it is people who are to blame for the disappearance of bison in the wild.

The result of poaching, destruction of habitats and unlimited mass shooting of animals was the complete extermination of the bison in nature already in 1927. Only the preservation of a certain number of bison in zoological parks and private owners made it possible not to completely lose this type of artiodactyl animal.

Despite the fact that bison have a powerful build, the movements of such an animal are very light and fast, so the artiodactyl is able to quickly move at a gallop, easily overcome two-meter fences, and deftly move along rather steep slopes.

The increase in the number of bison was facilitated by the process of purposeful breeding, as well as the creation of special nurseries and the systematic release of young animals into nature.

Diseases

Due to their limited gene pool, bison are considered very vulnerable to various diseases, especially foot-and-mouth disease and anthrax, male genitourinary diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and eye cataracts. With an increase in the population, the percentage of sick and weak animals should decrease. Scientists are developing programs to create populations of bison living separately from each other, expanding their range and diet. In addition to the resettlement of animals, in 1985, in order to improve the population, the selection and elimination of inferior individuals is carried out annually.

In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the presence of individuals with damaged genitals has been noted for a long time. The first cases of such diseases date back to the beginning of the 20th century. They have also been noted in other populations. This disease was diagnosed as necrotizing balanitis (inflammation of the skin of the glans penis), it quite often leads to the death of animals.

Conducted helminthological studies suggested that bison were invaded by 15 species of helminths, and the infection rate was 91.2%. Nematodes were found in 79.18% of individuals, trematodes in 66.7%, and tapeworms in 7.69%.

Decreased immunity in animals is probably associated with an excess of lead and cadmium in organs and tissues and a lack of copper and cobalt.

Human interaction

In 2000, the number of bison was ~3500 individuals. Two forms can be distinguished in today's bison: the first is the Bialowieza subspecies, and the second is the factory line. The Caucasian-Belovezhskaya bison contain the genes of the only Caucasian specimen surviving in captivity. Since 1961, the resettlement of bison in the forests began in the USSR, within their former range.

To date, the first stage of work on the conservation of bison has been completed: this rare species is not threatened with extinction in the near future. However, the IUCN Red List categorizes this species as VU (vulnerable) according to the D1 criterion (despite a decrease in the 1990s, the population has been growing since 2000). On the territory of Russia, the Red Book of the Russian Federation (1998) put the bison in category 1 - Endangered.

As a result of the purposeful activity of many specialists, as of December 31, 1997, there were 1096 bison in captivity (zoos, nurseries and other reserves) in the world, and 1829 individuals in free populations. But if in the mid-1980s there were about 1,100 bison in the USSR, including about 300 in Russia, then by the end of the 90s, free populations of purebred bison in the Caucasus had somewhat decreased (they live in the Caucasian Reserve, Tseysky Reserve in North Ossetia and Arkhyzsky section of the Teberdinsky Reserve).

In this situation, in 1997, with the participation of the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Environmental Protection, an interregional program for the conservation of the Russian bison was created and approved by the governors of three regions (Oryol, Kaluga, Bryansk), and in 1998, a Working Group on bison and bison, which was entrusted with developing a "Strategy for the conservation of bison in Russia"

Since September 1996, the WWF RPO began implementing a project to create the first large free-living bison population in the Oryol-Bryansk region. A very important part in this program was taken by the administration of the Oryol region, which created the national park - Oryol Polesie, prepared enclosures for overexposure of animals and provided care for them, protection and supervision, and also paid a significant part of the costs of transporting bison. The first bison were brought from the bison nurseries of the Oksky and Prioksko-Terrasny nature reserves. Moreover, the most genetically valuable animals from the imported groups are left in these nurseries for further breeding. To date, a total of 55 bison have been transferred to the region and there is a natural increase in the population and the resettlement of bison in suitable areas. Since 1998, various areas of bison work (creation of the Oryol-Bryansk population in Russia, a transboundary population in the Carpathians, support for maintaining a stud book, support for writing an Action Plan) have also been supported within the European Large Herbivore Initiative of the World Wildlife Fund, funded by the Dutch government.

1. Bison is the largest land mammal found in Europe.
2. In ancient times, some peoples worshiped bison, identifying them with the symbol of their native land.
3. Bison is the only species of large wild bulls that has survived to this day in the expanses of Europe.
4. Bison have much in common with bison living in the vastness of the United States.
5. Bison and bison can even interbreed and produce viable and non-sterile offspring. The fruits of such marriages are called bison.
6. The weight of an adult bison reaches 7-8 centners.
7. Bison cubs can already walk a couple of hours after birth.
8. Pregnancy of a female bison lasts nine months, like a human.
9. Bison cubs are born with reddish fur, but after a while the fur darkens and becomes chocolate brown.
10. Bison can jump over obstacles up to two meters in height.
11. The leaders of bison herds are females, not males.
12. The life expectancy of a bison reaches twenty-five years.
13. The world's largest bison reserve is Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus.
14. Bison at the beginning of the 20th century were on the verge of extinction. All living bison were born from a dozen individuals born in zoos and reserves.
15. In our time, there is only one species of bison, the other two have been completely exterminated.
16. Even primitive people hunted bison.
17. The main reasons for the disappearance of bison are poaching and environmental pollution.
18. These animals are a symbol of Belarus, and therefore the attitude towards them is special. It is noteworthy that in the middle of the 20th century not a single European bison remained in the forests of the biosphere reserve. The return of bison to these places began only in 1929.
19. In reserves bison do not get along well with other animals, especially with large herbivores. In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, near the feeders of bulls, the corpses of dead deer, elks, and horses were found.
20. In 1923, for the first time, biologists conducted a census of all bison in zoos and nurseries.
21. In order to update the gene pool, European bison are crossed with American bison. As a result, viable bison are born, capable of procreation.
22. In ancient times, some peoples worshiped these ungulates, identifying them with the symbol of their native land.
23. The tribes of North America believe that the birth of a bison with white fur will certainly bring prosperity to the territory where the bull was born.
24. The image of a bison is a worldwide symbol of the environmental movement for the conservation of endangered and rare species of animals.
25. In the entire history of their existence, these bulls have never been domesticated.
26. The bison is the only species in the world that has managed to be returned to the wild after being completely exterminated by poachers.

Video

There are several types of bison in the world, but in this article we will talk about a specific representative of this species - the Bialowieza bison. Bison belongs to the order of artiodactyls. This unique species is the latest of the genus of wild bulls. During the Middle Ages, bison could be found throughout Central and Eastern Europe. It was found in the territory from Great Britain to France, in Siberia and Scandinavia.

Refers to herd species of animals. The herd in most cases consists of females and young animals, males join the herd only during the breeding season.

The bison was the largest representative of mammals in Europe, but by the end of the 19th century, the species began to lose its original size. The length of adult males, as you can see in the photo of bison, is about 3 meters, the height at the withers is about 1.8 meters, the length of females is 2.8 meters, the height reaches 1.7 meters. The head of the bison is lower than the tail, and the frontal part is wide and large, and the muzzle is vice versa. Horns in length from 60 to 65 centimeters. The front of the body is much larger and wider than the back. The legs of the Bialowieza bison are longer than those of its counterparts in Europe.

The hair on the body of the bison is quite short, but by winter it becomes much thicker. Due to the wool and the lower part of the neck, a so-called beard is formed under the chest, which gives the animal the appearance of an ancient beast. Between the horns, hair falls on the forehead, forming a kind of bangs, you can see this in the presented pictures of bison. In winter, brown prevails in the color of bison, and in summer - fawn-gray. Cubs are born in a light shade with an admixture of ocher and gray hair.

The habitats of the bison are quite extensive. Representatives of this species are found in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests. Bison also live in open areas, for example, in meadows, in large and wide glades. One of the most important factors that play a role in choosing a site is the presence of a large number and selection of herbs. Representatives of this species prefer to settle near watering holes, as well as in places where there are sandy hills, in which bison arrange baths for themselves. In autumn, they choose places where oak prevails in the forests. By itself, the diet of bison is varied, but it is dominated by grass, and only a small percentage of shrubs and trees. An interesting fact is that in winter, with a lack of water, bison break through the ice with their hooves where their watering place is located. This suggests that this species has a memory on the way of passage to the location of water.

The life expectancy of a bison is from 24 to 25 years, but there have been cases of long-lived bison who lived up to 30 years. Males during the breeding season, which is called yar, fight for females, sometimes lasting several hours. After mating, the females go to a safe place with the calf, as at first the young males chase them. At the time of calving, the female shows extreme aggression towards anyone who tries to approach her and her cub. The number of bison in Europe is steadily declining, mainly due to poaching, disease, and lack of food. On the territory of Belarus, the number of bison in the period from 1994 to 2005, on the contrary, doubled.

One of the threat factors for bison, both in the past and now, is intensive poaching. If earlier there was an active hunt for representatives of the species, now only isolated attempts are being made to get the bison. Another factor is the deterioration of the gene pool, namely the lack of a large population, that is, a common group of 400 identical individuals. One of the reasons for the decline in the population is considered to be closely related mating, which reduces the ability of offspring to survive.

Photo of bison

Species: Bison or European bison (Bison bonasus)

Genus: Bison (Bison)

Subfamily: Bovine (Bovinae)

Family: Porology (Bovidae)

Order: Artiodactyla (Artiodactyla)

Bison are the largest ungulates on the European continent. Until recently, the population of these animals in Europe consisted of two subspecies: the plain bison and the Caucasian (mountain) bison. Scientists managed to preserve the purebredness of the plain subspecies, but all Caucasian bison died out in the wild. Today there is a hybrid plain-Caucasian line, the pedigree of which is from the last purebred Caucasian bison.

The closest relative of the European bison is the American bison. The differences between these animals are minor. The bison has a higher hump, a longer tail and horns. The bison has shorter legs and a longer back. In summer, the back of the body of the American bison is almost bald, while in the European bison, hair is developed all over the body at any time of the year.

Interesting fact

The first written record of the bison was made by Aristotle inIVcentury BC. The fossil remains of the ancestors of these bulls are attributed to the Pliocene era (about 2 million years ago).

Appearance of a bison

Bison are very similar to the tour. The length of their body reaches 3-3.5 meters, the height at the withers is up to 2 meters and weighs about 1 ton. Females are significantly smaller than males. The difference in weight becomes noticeable by the age of 3 and persists throughout the life of horned animals.

A characteristic distinguishing feature of bison is a pronounced disproportion between the developed heavy front part of the body and the lighter rear part. These bulls have a relatively small head with a broad forehead covered with thick hair. A beard is visible under the chin. Two sharp hollow horns bent inward are black and have a smooth surface. They do not change throughout the life of bison. The length of the horns reaches 55 centimeters.

The head of large bulls is located so low that the base of the tail is always above the crown of the head. The ears of bison are short and wide, covered with hair. The eyes have movable bulging eyeballs and thick eyelashes. The mouthparts are bluish in color. The bison has 32 teeth in its mouth.

The front part of the body has a strongly developed musculature, a high hump is clearly distinguished on the back of the bison. It is formed due to the long processes of the thoracic vertebrae, surrounded by muscles. The body length of horned animals reaches 3 meters. The back of the body of mighty bulls is more compressed and dry, looks underdeveloped.

Interesting fact

The massive body and heavy weight of the bison give the impression that the bulls are inactive. However, this is not at all the case. When an animal is frightened or enraged, its movements become sharp and fast. Bison can run very fast, albeit not for long.

These artiodactyl mammals have a thick and powerful neck without a drooping dewlap. Also, bison have strong legs, and the forelimbs are much shorter than the hind ones. The tail, completely covered with hair, reaches 80 centimeters in length. It ends in a fluffy brush-like tuft of hair.

The body of an adult bison is covered with slightly curly brown hair with a chestnut tint. It does not get wet in the rain and reliably protects the bulls from the cold. The coloration of the Bialowieza and Caucasian bison is slightly different. In plains bulls, the coat has a grayish-brown color, in mountain bulls it is dark brown. Newborn Bialowieza bison have a gray tint, while Caucasian bison have a characteristic reddish coat. The coat color on the head is noticeably darker than on the body.

The bison have a well-developed sense of smell and hearing, their eyesight is poor.

Distribution area of ​​bison

Bison are the last European representatives of wild bulls. Previously, they inhabited broad-leaved and mixed forests of Western, Central and South-Eastern Europe, lived in the Caucasus and the territory of Transcaucasia, met in Northern Iran and Southern Scandinavia.

In this range, bison lived not only in forests, but also inhabited open areas. But as they were destroyed, horned animals moved to remote, more remote places.

The Belovezhskaya bison population inhabited flat forest areas; bulls fled from extermination in swampy thickets. The Caucasian population lived in mountain forests. Caucasian bison often climbed ridges more than 2 thousand meters above sea level, regularly grazed in alpine meadows.

Today, these bulls feel comfortable in mixed and deciduous forests, copses, and forest-steppe. Bison try not to leave the territory chosen for grazing near rivers and streams. Animals avoid swampy areas.

Diet of a bison

Bison prefer food of plant origin. Large bulls eat leaves and bark of trees, shoots of plants and grass. The diet of these animals includes about 400 species of different herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees.

In summer, bison feed on the juicy green parts of plants, go to the watering hole twice a day. They need water every day. In winter, the diet consists of tree branches and bark, as well as mosses and lichens. In the reserves, animals are fed with hay.

Mountain bison spend most of the winter on blowouts - vast meadow areas on mountain slopes, where a strong wind blows away the snow and exposes the grass cover. In these hard-to-reach alpine meadows, bison feed on last year's grass.

Bison lifestyle

The largest bulls in Europe are herd animals. The herd usually consists of 2-3 females and their offspring for the last 1-3 years. The head of such a team is an experienced and old female.

Interesting fact

In a herd of bison, order and subordination reign. Whiter stronger individuals are the first to drink water, they have the right to be the first to choose a place of rest or grazing.

Male bison aged from 4 to 10 years form small groups of 2-3 individuals and keep separately from the herd of cows with young animals. Bulls over 10 years old lead a solitary lifestyle and only during the mating season join the herd.

In the winter season, bison form herds of several dozen heads in feeding places, so it is easier for animals to survive the cold. With the onset of spring, the herds break up into separate groups.

As a rule, bison go out for grazing in the morning and evening, less often at night. During the day, animals rest, like to bask in the sun, chew gum and clean wool in dry ground.

Herds graze in selected areas, but if there is not enough food for everyone, the bison will go to look for a new place. Endurance and incredibly strong legs allow horned animals to overcome tens of kilometers without much difficulty.

In winter, bison stay near feeding points, and in places where there are few or none at all, bulls stick to mixed plantations and young pine stands. Protective and fodder features of the land are in the first place for bison, snow cover is of less importance. Ungulates successfully winter in those areas where the snow depth reaches 40-50 centimeters.

In the wild, bison behave cautiously, they have a highly developed self-preservation instinct. Seeing people, the bulls leave in fright. Some males may try to scare a person with their lunge. However, this behavior is typical for animals that are kept in enclosures.

Interesting fact

In nursery pens, bison are more bold than in the wild, although they obey bison breeders. They remember well the sounds that accompany the distribution of food.

Only a female guarding a bison can pose a real danger to a person. In an attempt to protect her baby from imaginary or real encroachment, she is able to pounce on anyone.

In their natural habitat, wolves are considered the main enemies of bison. From the attack of a pack of predators, bulls are saved by a special technique - all-round defense. Young animals and weak bison are hiding inside the ring. The herbivorous bulls themselves do not pose a threat to other inhabitants of the forests.

bison breeding

The period of active mating of bison is called yar. In wild bulls, it took place in August-September. However, as a result of long-term breeding of these animals in captivity, the terms of the yar were extended. The manifestation of sexual behavior limits the lack of energy, hot summers and frosts.

In modern habitats, bison breeding begins in July and ends in February, and sometimes even in March. It is noteworthy that at a favorable temperature in captivity, the rut can start at any time of the year. But in most animals (about 70%), the mating season falls on July-October.

Toward the beginning of the mating season, sexually mature bison return to the herds of females. It is not uncommon for males to fight for the right to mate with a healthy female. And although the demonstration of strength can last for several hours, bullfights are not distinguished by aggressiveness. They fight with their horns and the weaker one just walks away. At the same time, the male-winner does not pursue the vanquished. Therefore, bison fights rarely end in serious injuries.

Interesting fact

The nature of the fight of bulls changes dramatically when it comes to the struggle for territory.

In reproduction, mainly 7-12-year-old bison participate. Young and old individuals are not allowed to females by stronger males. In search of cows, bulls roam from herd to herd.

The male chooses a mate for himself and does not leave his mate for up to 3 days. After fertilization, the bison carries the baby for 9 months (257-270 days). Almost always, one bison is born, in very rare cases - two.

A few days before giving birth, the female leaves the herd for a while to find a secluded place where the baby will appear. The calf is born with a weight of 19-25 kg. Its coat has a light beige tint (in the Belovezhskaya population) or reddish (in the Caucasian population). After the birth, the mother is next to the little bison and when he gains strength, leads to the rest of the herd. Adult individuals as a group protect bison from predators.

A newborn feeds on mother's high-calorie milk up to 1 year, although bison begins to eat the first plants already a few weeks after birth.

Babies grow slowly, up to 5-6 years. Females reach full physical development at 7 years old, males at 10 years old. Bulls become sexually mature by the 2nd year of life, cows - by the 3rd year. The ability to bear children in females persists until old age. Males are able to participate in fertilization up to 12 years of age.

Under good living conditions and a sufficient food base, one female bison can bear offspring annually. In some years, from 30% to 50% of females do not give birth.

Interesting fact

Leaving the mother herd, young males form small groups of bachelors before gaining enough experience and strength to live alone.

In the wild, bison live 20-25 years, in hunting farms, special nurseries and reserves - up to 30 years.

Bison in the Red Book

Scientists trace the fate of bison from various sources: chronicles and annals, scientific descriptions, fossil remains. With population growth, deforestation and the active development of agriculture in Europe, a long period of extermination of bison began. In the southern part of England, this process began in the 5th century, on the territory of the European continent - in the 10th-11th centuries.

In former times, mighty bison lived in the vast expanses of Eurasia, but the change in natural landscapes and poaching had an irreparable effect on the species. By the beginning of the 20th century, the last representatives of wild bulls in Europe were found only in the Caucasus and in Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

Interesting fact

Hunting bison alone was extremely dangerous and not at all easy, but these large bulls have always been a coveted trophy for poachers.

Hunting bison has only been banned since 1923, when the important issue of saving bison from extinction was raised at the International Congress for the Conservation of Nature. At the congress, the International Society for the Rescue of the Mighty Bulls was created. For the first time, the organization conducted a census of all bison that have survived in captivity.

Due to the ruthless hunting of people for the meat and skins of these animals, as well as deforestation and drainage of swamps, European bison have practically disappeared as a species. According to census data, in 1927 there were only 48 horned animals in the world.

In subsequent years, the shooting of animals was carried out only for the purpose of selection by special permission.

Today, zoologists are engaged in the restoration of the bison population. In order to increase the number of free-living bulls, a number of activities are carried out:

• Breeding bison in zoo-enclosures and in the wild;
• Protection from poachers;
• Feeding animals in national parks and reserves;
• Improvement of living conditions.

Interesting fact

The main threat to the conservation of the speciesBison bonasusin the long run is low genetic variability.

Through the efforts of members of the International Society for the Protection of Bison, they began to breed in nurseries and zoos. The first restored herd of horned animals was released on the territory of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha reserve. Over time, from there, young individuals of the purebred Bialowieza (plain) line began to be transported to different European countries for resettlement in protected areas. Today, more than 700 bison live in the forests of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Poles and Belarusians take care of them.

In the 1940s, a program was launched to restore the Caucasian population of wild bulls. Three steppe bison, 13 Bialowieza bison and one descendant of the Caucasian bison were brought to the Zubropark tract, which was miraculously preserved in the Hamburg Zoo. All these animals became the founders of the modern bison population living in mountain forests.

Interesting fact

Mountain bison are almost always called Caucasian, but this is not entirely correct. The last Caucasian bison were completely exterminated in 1927, 3 years after the creation of the Caucasian Natural Biosphere Reserve.

In the mid-1980s, 1,300 large bulls lived on the vast territory of the Caucasian Reserve, but at the end of the 20th century, fewer than 200 individuals remained due to barbaric poaching. Perhaps the population did not die only because the bison moved to spend the winter in hard-to-reach alpine meadows. Currently, there are about 1,000 bison in the Caucasian Reserve.

For nearly a century, Bison bonasus has been classified as endangered. In 1996, bison received the status of a vulnerable species. Restoration work is still ongoing.

Today, bison evicted under special programs for nature live in Poland and Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Lithuania and Latvia, Slovakia and Moldova, Spain and Germany. According to data for 2015, there are about 6,000 individuals of these artiodactyl animals in the world. Most of them live in protected areas, a small part - in zoos.

Interesting fact

Bison feel quite normal not only in nature reserves, but also in zoos. Around the world, European bison are kept in 30 such menageries.

Bison are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Russia, the IUCN Red Book, as well as the European Red List. In many countries bison hunting is prohibited or restricted. This is due to the low breeding rates of horned animals and the great demand for them as a valuable object of fishing. In places where the increase in the population of European bison is high (for example, in Belarus), it is allowed to hunt these bulls. Often such hunting is commercial and is carried out in order to attract additional funds for security measures.

But by weight it is much superior to the latter. Body length in adult males ranges from 234 to 350 cm; height at the withers from 158 to 195 cm. The main length of the skull of males ranges from 449-489 mm. Live weight from 430 to 1000 kg.

The usual weight of a male bison of middle age and average fatness is 32 pounds (512 kg). Apparently, there were individual males even larger than the given figures, weight. So, G. Kartsov determined the weight of an old large bull killed and disembowelled during his time at about 800 kg (50 pounds); its live weight (together with the entrails) should therefore be believed to have been about a ton. The sometimes even higher figures given, up to 1900 kg, apparently, are not always reliable. A well-known case of the live weight of a 12-year-old male bison "Yermysh" (3/4-blooded bison) of 1200 kg, reported to the author by M. A. Zablotsky, may be due to the phenomenon of heterosis, common in interspecific hybridization of animals.

The live weight of a 58/64-blood 4-year-old male bison shot in my presence in October 1958 in the Caucasian Reserve was 589 kg.

The general physique of the bison is heavy, massive, along with the features of the hairline, giving the animal a ferocious appearance. In the trunk, attention is drawn to the disproportionate development of the anterior and posterior parts. The front part is unusually massive, especially in males. The withers are very high, due to the elongation of the spinous processes of the vertebrae that make up its skeletal basis, and forms a kind of hump, which is further increased by the hair standing vertically on its crest. The powerfully developed musculature of the shoulder girdle and scapula enhances the massiveness of the anterior part of the bison's body. The chest is very deep, but flat, due to the slight curvature of the ribs. The back of the bison's body gives the impression of being underdeveloped, although not to the same extent as that of the American bison. The pelvis appears narrow compared to the shoulder girdle and set low. The height at the sacrum in males is 20-25 cm, in females 12-15 cm less than the height at the withers. The impression of weakness and underdevelopment of the hindquarters is intensified by the shorter and tighter hair in this part of the body. The line of the profile of the back drops steeply towards the rear, often forming a noticeable undulating bend. The belly is lean, further emphasizing the depth of the chest. The tail is round in cross-section, 50-60 cm long, with a brush of long hair at the end of 80-100 cm, reaching or even descending slightly below the hock joint, unless worn and torn off. When excited and running, the tail often curves and rises. The bison's neck is short, thick and wide, due to the high withers it seems to be set low on the body. The top line of her profile drops steeply anteriorly, further shading the hump-shaped high withers. On the underside of the neck there is a skin fold fringed with long coarse hair.

bison coloring

The coloration of the bison, in comparison with many other ungulates of our fauna, is rather uniform, brown-brown. The front of the body, compared to the back, is somewhat darker. The sides and bottom of the head are especially dark, as well as the beard and dewlap on the neck, which have a black-brown tint. The abdomen is colored darker than other parts of the body. The lower legs are also dark brown, but the hair immediately adjacent to the rims of the primary and secondary hooves is usually a lighter yellowish brown. A dark brown stripe often runs along the midline of the neck and back. The proximal part of the tail is the same color as the body, while the brush consists of black-brown hair with a small admixture of white. A lighter yellowish-brown color, with a smoky coating, have the shoulders and withers, and sometimes also the sides of the neck and the upper side of the head. In contrast to the bison, the ears are of the same tone as the body. The hairs at the very end of the muzzle and on the lower lip have a light whitish-brown color, while the eyes are surrounded by a ring of pure brown. The hair of the undercoat is lighter than the awn, yellowish-brown in color.

Habitat and distribution of bison

As established by the research of V. I. Gromova (1935), the modern bison is a crushed descendant of the primitive bison (Bison priscus), a species widespread in Eurasia from the lower to the end of the upper Pleistocene. The primitive bison was at the same time the ancestor of the American bison. The shallowing of the bison trunk, due to the deterioration of climatic conditions by the end of the ice age, began, according to V. I. Gromova, from the end of the last interglacial period. The discovery in Germany of a fragment of a skull with strongly shortened, but still massive horn rods, dated by size to the species Bison bonasus, dates back to this time. A form intermediate between the short-horned races of the primitive bison of the late Pleistocene and modern B. bonasus was found in the deposits of the Upper Paleolithic Ilskaya site in the North Caucasus.

Biology and lifestyle of bison

We can talk about two ecological types of bison: plains and mountains. The first is the Belovezhskaya bison, an inhabitant of the flat mixed forests of Europe, while the Caucasian is considered a typical mountain forest animal. Common to both forms is attachment to the forest. Like most other representatives of the subfamily Bovinae, species of the genus Bison are primarily forest animals. The adaptation of the American bison (Bison bison bison L.), and also, probably, of some races of the primitive bison to life in the conditions of the steppe, is undoubtedly a phenomenon of a secondary order. The forest for the free bison was not only a place of rest and shelter from enemies, but also provided the animal with a very significant share of food both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Bison nutrition

There is a lot of contradictory information about bison nutrition. Apparently, those who claim that almost everything that he finds in a rich undergrowth forest, on the edges and forest clearings serve as food for him.

Of fundamental importance is the question of the bison's need for tree-branch fodder. A typical forest animal, bison, in contrast to the steppe bison, requires the obligatory participation of tree-branch food in the diet throughout the year. Many years of experience in bison breeding in Askania-Nova showed that 50% of all cases of death of these animals, deprived of tree food here, were due to gastrointestinal diseases. Research by L. V. Krainova on the nutrition of free-grazing bison in the Caucasian Reserve showed that in conditions of excellent meadow pastures bison constantly eat tree food. Wood fodder is necessary for bison throughout the year. In summer, bison need it along with grassy. The forest is not only a dwelling, but also a constant source of food in the form of leaves, shoots and tree bark.

In practice, in the conditions of the Caucasian Reserve, all tree species growing in the bison grazing area are eaten to one degree or another, and almost half is the main tree food. Favorite species are elm and mountain ash. Various types of willows, aspen, ash, hornbeam and some others are also willingly eaten. The eatable parts of these species are leaves, thin branches, and bark. The bark is eaten throughout the year, but especially in the spring, when it is juicy and easily separated from the wood. Bison cut the bark with incisors at the height of the muzzle and move the head, or, moving backwards, tear off long, up to 3-4 m, ribbons from the bottom up (in those breeds, of course, in which the bark can be torn off in this way). Delicious autumn food is acorns, beech nuts, and in the Caucasus also the fruits of wild apple and pear trees, for the sake of which bison are “on duty” under the trees and even dig out fallen fruits and acorns from under the snow.

bison breeding

The duration of pregnancy in bison is about 9 months, so that calving occurs in May and June, stretching normally even in animals living in free conditions up to one and a half months. With a semi-free or penned content, these terms, due to the changed conditions of existence, are violated even more. Although normally the maximum number (about 30-40%) of calving occurs in May, the process is still stretched from April to December, and individual cases can be in January, February and even March.

The calf suckles its mother for at least 8-10 months, and if she does not become pregnant this year, she can use mother's milk for more than a year. The amount of milk excreted per day by a bison is not known, but there is evidence that an artificially fed bison is supposedly able to drink milk from two average milk yields of cows. From the small size of the udder, it is believed that the bison has little milk, but it is fatter than that of the cow. From two to three weeks, the calf begins to pinch tender leaves, but completely switches to vegetable food only at the end of autumn or in winter.

Infraclass - placental

Subfamily - bulls

Narodrod - bulls and buffaloes

Genus - bison

View - bison or European bison

Literature:

1. I.I. Sokolov "Fauna of the USSR, Ungulate animals" Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1959.