A group of national park employees, foresters and researchers have estimated that the Białowieża Forest, in northeastern Poland, is inhabited by 779 bison, compared to 715 in 2021 and 596 in 2016, the Polska Times daily has reported.
The count is always carried out in the winter when the animals gather in larger groups at feeding sites, making it easier to tally the bison population, the newspaper explained.
What bodes well for the future of the bison in Poland is the high percentage of the young among the species. The count found that the Białowieża Forest is home to over 100 European bison calves under two years old, Polska Times said.
The history of European bison in Poland
The population of European bison in Białowieża has seen some peaks and troughs throughout the centuries. Treated as a hunting trophy by some Polish monarchs, the species became extinct across the country around 1919. There have been efforts to bring the bison back to Poland ever since, and the animal's population has been restored, the broadsheet wrote.
In the wild, the European bison can also be found in other parts of Poland, such as the southeastern Bieszczady region, as well as the Knyszyńska and Borecka Forests in the northeast of the country. The overall population of the species in Poland totals some 2,500, with the largest concentration found in the primaeval Białowieża Forest, Polska Times reported.
(pjm/pm)
Source: Polska Times