Parco Natura Viva has been involved for years in the conservation of the European bison both by raising public awareness on the protection of this species and by reintroducing in the wild animals born in the park. Reintroductions started in 2004 and, throughout the years the number of animals released has risen more and more. The project has been carried out in two areas of East Europe: Poloniny National Park in Slovakia and the Tarçu Mountains Reserve in Romania. The park makes use of important collaborations with institutions that deal with the protection of wildlife: the Large Herbivore Foundation (LHF), Rewilding Europe, WWF Romania, and the Romanian Wilderness Society (SRS).
Since the 1
st of January 2016, the project for the reintroduction of the European bison in the Southern Carpathians has received EU funding under the LIFE financial programme, thus becoming the “LIFE Re-bison – Urgent actions for the recovery of European bison populations in Romania” (LIFE14NAT/NL/000987). The Southern Carpathians represent one of the most suitable areas for the reintroduction of the European bison on large scale, precisely because the area is not very fragmented, and the human presence is very low.
To date, 73 European bison have been reintroduced in the Southern Carpathians.
The aim of the LIFE project is to increase the number of wild bison by establishing sub populations that can constitute bigger and more sustainable populations. This project brings an important contribution to the survival of an animal of great ecological relevance, but it is also a flag-bearer for broader conservation initiatives such as the restoration of the natural ecosystem in all the Carpathians. In fact, by reintroducing the European bison, researchers hope to gain the necessary public and political consent for the restoration of the local ecosystem and of those ecological corridors that are an important resource for many other animal and plant species.
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Camposaz in Magura Zimbrilor - © Bogdan Comanescu |
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© Bogdan Comanescu - Armenis Winter |
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© Bogdan Comanescu - Armenis Winter |
© Bogdan Comnescu - Bison Hillock Landscape |
© Emmanuel Rondeau - drone shot Sat Batran |
© Costas Dumitrescu |