Editing European bison (section)

===Antiquity and Middle Ages===
Within mainland Europe, its range decreased as human populations expanded and cut down forests. They seemed to be common in [[Aristotle]]'s period on Mount Mesapion (possibly the modern [[Ograzhden (mountain)|Ograzhden]]).<ref name=Arist4th /> In the same wider area [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] calling them ''[[Paeonians|Paeonian]] bulls'' and ''bison'', gives details on how they were captured alive; adding also the fact that a golden Paeonian bull head was offered to [[Delphi]] by the Paeonian king Dropion (3rd century BC) who lived in what is today [[Tikveš]].<ref>Παυσανίας 2nd cent A.D.: Ελλάδος περιήγησης. Φωκικά, Λοκρών Οζόλων.</ref> The last references ([[Oppian]], [[Claudius Aelianus]]) to the animal in the transitional [[Mediterranean biogeographical region|Mediterranean]]/[[Continental biogeographical region]] in the Balkans in the area of modern borderline between [[Greece]], [[North Macedonia]] and [[Bulgaria]] date to the 3rd century AD.<ref>Douglas, N. 1927: Birds and Beasts of the Greek Anthology. Florence.</ref><ref>Kitchell, K.F. 2013: Animals in the Ancient Word from A to Z.</ref> In northern [[Bulgaria]], the wisent was thought to have survived until the 9th or 10th century AD, but more recent data summary shows that the species survived up to 13th - 14th century AD in eastern Bulgaria and up to 16th - 17th century AD in the northern part of the country.<ref>Spassov, N., Iliev, N. 1986: Bone remains of Wisent (Bison bonasus L.) in the medieval
settlement near the Garvan village, Silistra District (new researches). In: Vazharova,
Zh. The Medieval Settlement at Garvan Village, Silistra District, 4th–11th century A. D.,
Sofia, Publ. House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 68.</ref><ref>Boev, Ζ. 2022: European bison (Bison bonasus Linnaeus, 1758) in Bulgaria: fossil and historical records, distribution, and disappearance. Journal of Wildlife and Biodiversity 6(1): 92-99.</ref> There is a possibility that the species' range extended to [[East Thrace]] during the 7th–8th century AD.<ref>Onar, V., Soubrier, J., Toker, N.Y., Loenen, v.A., Llamas, B., Siddiq, B.A., Pasicka, E. & M. Tokarska 2016: Did the historical range of the European bison (''Bison bonasus'' L.) extend further south?—a new finding from the Yenikapı Metro and Marmaray excavation, Turkey. Mammal Research 62(1): 103–109.</ref> Its population in [[Gaul]] was extinct in the 8th century AD. The species survived in the [[Ardennes]] and the [[Vosges Mountains]] until the 15th century.<ref name="pucek">''European Bison (Bison bonasus): Current State of the Species and Strategy for Its Conservation'' By Zdzsław Pucek, Published by Council of Europe, 2004, {{ISBN|92-871-5549-6}}, 978-92-871-5549-8</ref> In the [[Early Middle Ages]], the wisent apparently still occurred in the forest steppes east of the Urals, in the [[Altai Mountains]], and seems to have reached [[Lake Baikal]] in the east. The northern boundary in the Holocene was probably around 60°N in Finland.<ref name="Sipko">Sipko, T., P. (2009). ''European bison in Russia – past, present and future.'' European Bison Conservation Newsletter Vol 2, pp: 148–159</ref> European bison survived in a few natural forests in Europe, but their numbers dwindled.