Description
The European Bison (Bison bonasus) is a mammal indigenous to Poland. It inhabits deciduous and mixed forests, lowland and mountainous areas.
Habitat
Extended Data
Taxonomy
Fun Facts
The European bison is the heaviest surviving wild land animal in Europe, with bulls weighing up to 920 kg (2,030 lbs)
They were driven to extinction in the wild by 1927 but were successfully reintroduced from zoo-bred animals starting in the 1950s
Poland's Białowieża Forest is home to the largest free-living European bison herd and is one of Europe's last primeval forests
In Polish culture, the żubr is a national symbol of strength and appears on the logo of Polska Wielka (Poland's heritage brand)
All living European bison descend from just 12 founders — making them genetically one of the most bottlenecked large mammals