Wisent 39059 225264082 2008-07-12T19:43:02Z Ghirlandajo 147410 /* Reintroduction */ commented out unless sourced {{Refimprove|date=November 2007}} {{Taxobox | name = Wisent | status = EN | status_system = iucn2.3 | image = Wisent.jpg | image_width = 250px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Mammal]]ia | ordo = [[Artiodactyla]] | familia = [[Bovidae]] | genus = ''[[Bison]]''''' | species = '''''B. bonasus''''' | binomial = ''Bison bonasus'' | binomial_authority = ([[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758) }} [[Image:Wisent-P1000700.JPG|thumb|250px|A wisent (''Żubr'')]] The '''wisent''' ({{pronEng|ˈviːzənt}}), or '''European bison''' (''Bison bonasus''), is a [[bison]] [[species]] and the heaviest surviving [[Terrestrial animal|land animal]] in [[Europe]]. A typical wisent is about 2.9 - 3.0&nbsp;m (9.5&nbsp;ft) long and 1.8–2.2&nbsp;m (5.9–7.4&nbsp;ft) tall, and weighs 300–920&nbsp;kg (660–2000&nbsp;lb). It is typically smaller than the related [[American bison]] (''Bison bison''), and has shorter hair on the neck, head, and forequarters, but longer tail and horns. Wisent are now forest-dwelling. They have few predators (besides humans) with only scattered reports from the 1800s of [[wolf]] and [[bear]] predation. Wisent 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 extinct ancestor of domestic cattle. In 1996 the [[IUCN]] classified the wisent as an [[endangered species]]. In the past it was commonly killed to produce [[hides]] and [[drinking horn]]s, especially during the [[Middle Ages]]. == Near-extinction== About 2000 years ago, wisent lived throughout most of Europe - from [[Great Britain|Britain]] in the west, to [[Siberia]] in the east, and from [[Spain]] in the south, to [[Sweden]] in the north. Wisent lived not only in [[forest]]s but also roamed [[grassland]]s. In [[Western Europe]], wisent 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 [[List of Polish monarchs|Polish kings]], [[List of Lithuanian rulers|Lithuanian grand dukes]] and [[List of Russian rulers|Russian czars]]. King [[Sigismund I of Poland]] instituted the [[death penalty]] for [[poaching]] a wisent in the mid-16th century. Despite these measures, and others, the wisent population continued to decline over the following four centuries. 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]]. By that year fewer than 50 remained, all in [[zoo]]s. ==Reintroduction== Wisent were [[Reintroduction|reintroduced]] successfully into the wild, beginning in 1951. They are found living free-ranging in forest preserves like [[Western Caucasus]] and [[Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve]] in [[Russia]] and [[Białowieża Forest]] in [[Poland]] and [[Belarus]].<!-- Wisent are now found in the 30km [[Zone of alienation|exclusion zone]] around [[Chernobyl]].{{fact}}--> Unfortunately, Białowieża 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]]{{Fact|date=June 2008}}. There are plans to re-introduce two herds in northern Germany {{Clarifyme|date=March 2008}}.-->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]]. == More details == [[Image:BisonBonasus.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Wisent in a zoo]] Wisent have lived as long as 28 years in captivity although in the wild their lifespan is shorter. Productive breeding years are between four and 20 years old in females and only between six and 12 years old in males. Wisent occupy home ranges of as much as 100 square kilometers and some herds are found to prefer meadows and open areas in forests. Wisent can cross-breed with [[American bison]]. The products of a [[Germany|German]] interbreeding program were destroyed after [[World War II]]. This program was related to the impulse which created the [[Heck cattle]]. The cross-bred individuals created at other zoos were eliminated from breed books by the 1950s. A Russian [[back-breeding]] program resulted in a wild herd of hybrid animals which presently lives in the [[Caucasian Biosphere Reserve]] (550 individuals in 1999). [[Image:Baby-wisent.jpg|thumb|right|A juvenile wisent at the [[Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve]] near [[Moscow]].]] There are also wisent-cattle hybrids. Cattle and wisent can hybridise fairly readily, but the calves cannot be born naturally (birth is not triggered correctly by the first-cross hybrid calf, and they must therefore be born by [[Caesarian section]]). In 1847 a herd of wisent-cattle hybrids named [[żubroń]] was created by [[Leopold Walicki]]. The animal was intended to become a durable and cheap alternative to cattle. The experiment was continued by researchers from the [[Polish Academy of Sciences]] until the late 1980s. Although the program resulted in a quite successful animal that was both hardy and could be bred in marginal grazing lands, it was eventually discontinued. Currently the only surviving żubroń herd consists of just a few animals in [[Białowieża Forest]], Poland. Three sub-species have been identified: * [[Lowland wisent]] - ''Bison bonasus bonasus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – from Białowieża Forest * [[Carpathian wisent|Hungarian (Carpathian) wisent]] (''Bison bonasus hungarorum'') - extinct * [[Caucasus wisent]] (''Bison bonasus caucasicus'') - extinct, although one individual from [[Western Caucasus]], a bull named "''Kaukasus''" was one of the 12 founders of the modern herds The modern herds are managed as two separate lines - one consisting of only ''Bison bonasus bonasus'' (all descended from only seven animals) and one consisting of all 12 ancestors including the one ''Bison bonasus caucasicus'' bull. Only a limited amount of [[inbreeding depression]] from the [[population bottleneck]] has been found, having a small effect on skeletal growth in cows and a small rise in calf mortality. Genetic variability continues to shrink. From five initial bulls, all current wisent bulls have one of only two remaining [[Y chromosome]]s. [[Image:Venus de Laussel.jpg|thumb|left|200px|20,000 year old [[Venus of Laussel]] figurine holding what may be a wisent horn.]] ==See also== {{commonscat|Bison bonasus}} *[[List of extinct animals of Europe]] ==References== ===Cited sources=== <references/> ===General sources=== * {{IUCN2006|assessors=Pucek|year=2000|id=2814|title=Bison bonasus|downloaded=11 May 2006}} Listed as Endangered (EN A2ce, C2a v2.3) ==External links== *[http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BBubr Polish wikipedia page about the wisent (żubr)] *[http://www.worlddeer.org/bison-in-sauerland The reintroduction of bison into Germany]. *ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Bison_bonasus/ images and movies of the European bison (''Bison bonasus'')] *[http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/artiodactyla/artiodactyla.bovidae.bison.html Bison entry] from ''[[Walker's Mammals of the World]]'' *[http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/caucasianbison.htm The Extinction Website - Caucasian European bison (''Bison bonasus caucasicus'')]. *[http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/carpathianbison.htm The Extinction Website - Carpathian European bison (''Bison bonasus hungarorum'')]. *[http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Bison_bonasus.html European bison/wisent] {{Artiodactyla|R.4}} [[Category:Bison]] [[Category:Mammals of Europe]] [[Category:Fauna of Russia]] [[Category:Megafauna of Eurasia]] {{Link FA|ia}} [[be-x-old:Зубар]] [[bg:Зубър]] [[cs:Zubr evropský]] [[da:Europæisk bison]] [[de:Wisent]] [[es:Bison bonasus]] [[eo:Eŭropa bizono]] [[fr:Bison bonasus]] [[id:Bison Eropa]] [[ia:Bisonte europee]] [[it:Bison bonasus]] [[he:ביזון אירופאי]] [[ka:დომბა]] [[lt:Stumbras]] [[nl:Wisent]] [[ja:ヨーロッパバイソン]] [[no:Visent]] [[pl:Żubr]] [[pt:Bisonte-europeu]] [[ro:Zimbru]] [[ru:Зубр]] [[sk:Zubor európsky]] [[fi:Visentti]] [[sv:Visent]] [[th:กระทิง]] [[zh:歐洲野牛]]