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Belarus home to almost 25% of world’s European bison population

An archive photo

BREST, 25 August (BelTA) – Belarus is home to almost a quarter of the global population of the European bison, BelTA learned from the research department of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park that quoted the European Bison Pedigree Book.

Since 1932, the Bialowieza National Park in Poland has annually published the genealogy book of the European bison. The latest edition has recently seen the light of day. According to it, as of the beginning of 2020, there were 8,461 bison in the world, including 6,244 wild bison, 479 semi-wild animals that live in large enclosed areas, and 1,738 that are kept in enclosures. The largest bison populations live in Poland (2,269 animals), Belarus (2,101), Russia (1,588), and Germany (564). These four countries are home to 6,522 European bison, or 77% of its global population.

The largest bison populations in Belarus live in five areas: Belovezhskaya Pushcha (604 animals), the territory of the Osipovichi forestry enterprise (470), the Ozery agricultural production cooperative in Grodno District (378), and the Krasny Bor hunting enterprise in Verkhnedvinsk District (190), as well as the Polesie State Radiation and Environmental Reserve (174).

The Bialowieza National Park in Poland boasts the largest European bison population in Europe – 770 animals. The largest bison populations in Russia live in the Orlovskoye Polesie National Park (426), the Kaluzhskiye Zaseki Nature Reserve and the Ugra National Park (309).

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