After 200 years of absence, European bison roam the Carpathian Mountains again. In the Tarcu Mountains of Romania, releases and wild births have built a herd of over 150 animals.
The Return of a Giant
The European bison, Europe's largest land mammal, was wiped out in the wild. By 1927, fewer than 60 survived, all in zoos and private parks.
Decades of careful breeding and coordinated reintroduction have changed everything. In the Tarcu Mountains of Romania, Rewilding Europe and WWF Romania brought the first 17 bison to the area in 2014 and released bison into the wild from 2016. Further releases and natural births have brought the herd to over 150 animals.
The European bison is a keystone species, a landscape engineer whose grazing and browsing shape the woodland around it.
A Model for Europe
Rewilding Europe calls it the largest reintroduction of European bison in recent times, and across Europe the species has grown from just over 2,500 to around 9,000 animals in a decade. It proves that large-scale rewilding isn't a dream, it's a policy choice.
Rewilding Europe is a partner of the Global Rewilding Alliance, a network of hundreds of partners restoring wild lands and seas around the world. The bison are just the beginning.
_Sources: Rewilding Europe, "Southern Carpathians" landscape page. Rewilding Europe, "European bison" species page. Global Rewilding Alliance website._