A young female European bison has been released in European Serengeti. She will help enhance the genetic diversity of the herd
A young female European bison has been released in the “European Serengeti” reserve of large herbivores located in the former Milovice military training area not far from Prague. “The three-year-old female will help increase the genetic diversity of the herd of bison that lives in the large ungulate reserve,” said Dalibor Dostal, director of the conservation organisation European Wildlife, which founded the reserve in cooperation with scientists in 2015.
“Bison were killed off in the wild by humans in the early 20th century, and very few of them have remained in captivity. All the animals that have survived hail from a mere twelve foundation animals. In fact, the rarer Białowieża line that we breed comes from just seven foundation animals. That’s why increasing the genetic variability of herds is even more important in the case of bison than with other species that haven’t undergone such a dramatic decrease in numbers,” added Dostal.
The female was donated to the reserve by Chomutov Zoo Park. “The zoo park in Chomutov ranks among the most significant bison breeders in the Czech Republic, and that’s why we’re very pleased that we can collaborate with it,” noted Dostal.
Owing to the fact that the Milovice reserve is preparing to transport bison to other reserves in the next few weeks, the female from Chomutov was marked temporarily with distinguishing tapes on the horns to prevent her from being captured by mistake.
The breeding of bison in Chomutov was established in 1975, and the first breeding group consisted of one male and three females. The zoo has reared dozens of animals ever since. Also, the oldest female bison in the Czech Republic named Cvanca lives in Chomutov. She will celebrate her twentieth birthday on 1 June. The breeding of bison near Milovice was established in 2015. The core of the herd comprised eight bison, one bull and seven cows, from several Polish reserves. There are 43 bison currently living in the reserve, making it the largest breeding group in the Czech Republic.
