About European wood bison:
- It is also known as wisent.
- European bison (Bison bonasus) are the largest and heaviest land mammal in Europe.
- There were formerly three subspecies, although only one (Bison bonasus bonasus) remains – the other two are now extinct.
- Habitat: Grassland, deciduous and mixed forests
- The wisent roamed across Europe in large herds at the end of the last ice age.
- It was almost wiped out by 1927 from Europe.
- It serves an important role as an ecosystem engineer, restoring grassland habitat.
- Conservation status:
- IUCN: Near Threatened
- Threats: Rapid environmental change and hunting by humans were the main drivers of the wisent’s extirpation across Europe.
- The scientists found that hunting caused range loss in the north and east of the wisent’s distribution, while land use change was responsible for losses in the west and south.
