Celebrating the Return of Wild Bison in Britain

By Judith Silverthorne

Wild bison in Britain? Indeed! Europe’s largest wild land mammal once roamed in Britain thousands of years ago and now they’re back. Thanks to the foresight of the Kent Wildlife Trust (KW), they’ve been recently reintroduced into the Kent countryside

The reputation of the bison for revitalizing ecosystems is what galvanized the establishment of the Wilder Blean project, near Canterbury. The hope is they will restore the dense commercial pine forest into a vibrant natural woodland.

The benefits of the rewilding of this phenomenal key species throughout Europe and countries beyond is significant. From the Kraansvlak sand dunes in the Netherlands and Rothaar mountains in the North Rhine-Westphalia of Germany to the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park in Belarus, the evidence is mounting about the significant way bison are restoring natural environs.

Just like their North American (bison bison) cousins, these European Bison (Bison bonasus) or Wisent, almost became extinct. A theory supposes bison likely originated from the interbreeding of the Ancient Steppe Bison originating in Russia and the now extinct wild cattle known as the Auroch. Their descendants were found in the primeval forests of some areas of Europe until the early Middle Ages, then faced eradication. Two sub-species of the European bison didn’t make it, and the last wild Bison bonasus, was shot in 1927.

Luckily, 12 bison had been kept in various zoos and animal enclosures from which all current European bison are descended. In 1952, the first free-living bison herds were reintroduced into the Białowieża National Forest in Poland. The European Bison Pedigree Book for all pure-blooded animals is kept there and through this genealogical registry, the bison are distributed all over Europe and a matrix of interrelated exchanges is occurring.

Of the bison making their homes in the Blean National Nature Reserve, the 14-yearold matriarch came by way of the Highlands Wildlife Park in Scotland while the two younger females are fouryear olds from Fota Wildlife Park in Ireland, one birthing a calf shortly after arrival. Two days before Christmas in 2022, the four-year-old bull made his entrance from the Sababurg Zoo in Germany.

Tom Gibbs, a bison ranger with the Wilder Blean project, says the decision was made to use European Bison as a nature-based solution to the climate and biodiversity crises as they help manage the woodlands in a sustainable way, as ecosystem engineers. Their unique foraging behaviours and behavioural traits will aid in the restoration to its natural state.

Besides their feeding habits impacting shrubs and young trees, their trampling, wallowing, and herd gatherings open up areas; the grazing of these majestic animals provides nesting grounds for birds, and they also have an impact on the soil. Their hooves aerate the soil, aiding in plant growth and dispersal of seeds and their dung provides fertilization and places for insects to live. Their wallows fill with rainwater to offer breeding pools for amphibians and sources of drinking water for wildlife across the landscape. Flora and fauna flourish, many species return to their natural habitat.

Gibbs says, by filling this absent ecological niche, the bison will hopefully create a more dynamic, diverse, and resilient environment. Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust both believe that the Wilder Blean project can act as a catalyst for other wilding projects here in the UK. They are raising funds to aid in this venture via Just Giving: Wilder Blean fundraising on JustGiving.

More about these largest land animals in Europe can be found here: www. kentwildlifetrust.org. uk/wilderblean

Judith Silverthorne is a Canadian author and documentary producer, who is on the trail in search of bison around the world. She’ll be visiting the Wilder Blean project in March.