Editing European bison (section)

===1950s onwards===
[[File:Jan Jerzy Karpinski zubry.jpg|thumb|Białowieża Forest, 1955]]
The first two bison were released into the wild in the Białowieża Forest in 1929.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oep.neostrada.pl/restytucja.htm|title=Zagłada i restytucja żubrów|website=www.oep.neostrada.pl|access-date=1 May 2017|archive-date=17 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317090642/http://www.oep.neostrada.pl/restytucja.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1964 more than 100 existed.<ref name="ley196412">{{Cite magazine|last=Ley|first=Willy|date=December 1964|title=The Rarest Animals|department=For Your Information|url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v23n02_1964-12#page/n93/mode/2up|magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction|pages=94–103}}</ref> Over the following decades, thanks to Polish and international efforts, the Białowieża Forest regained its position as the location with the world's largest population of European bison, including those in the wild.<ref name = pzł /> In 2005–2007, a wild bison nicknamed [[Pubal]] became renowned in southeast Poland due to his friendly interactions with humans and unwillingness to reintegrate into the wild.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fakty.interia.pl/podkarpackie/news-ocalony-zubr-nie-chce-zyc-na-wolnosci,nId,1130036|title=Ocalony żubr nie chce żyć na wolności|publisher=Interia|date=2007-01-02|access-date=2019-11-29|archive-date=20 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220072904/https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2014 there were 1,434 wisents in Poland, out of which 1,212 were in free-range herds and 522 belonged to the wild population in the [[Białowieża Forest]]. Compared to 2013, the total population in 2014 increased by 4.1%, while the free-ranging population increased by 6.5%.<ref name=eurowildlife /> Bison from Poland have also been transported beyond the country's borders to boost the local populations of other countries, among them Bulgaria, Spain, Romania, Czechia and others.<ref name="90l" /> Poland has been described as the world's breeding centre of the European bison,<ref name = pzł /> where the bison population doubled between 1995 and 2017, reaching 2,269 by the end of 2019<ref name="wyniki" /> – the total population has been increasing by around 15% to 18% yearly.<ref name="lbn-pż" /> In July 2022 a small population was released into woodland by Canterbury in Kent to trial their reintroduction into the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-18 |title=Wild bison return to UK for first time in thousands of years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/18/wild-bison-return-to-uk-for-first-time-in-thousands-of-years |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=18 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718113903/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/18/wild-bison-return-to-uk-for-first-time-in-thousands-of-years |url-status=live }}</ref> In May 2024, a small population was released in central Portugal.<ref name="rcb-radiocovadabeira.pt">{{cite web | url=https://rcb-radiocovadabeira.pt/rewilding-bisontes-europeus-chegam-pela-primeira-vez-a-portugal/ | title=Rewilding: Bisontes europeus chegam pela primeira vez a Portugal | date=31 May 2024 }}</ref> In 2012 and 2019 bisons were released in protected areas on Bornholm and Northern Jutland, Denmark.[[File:EuropeanBisonLyd3.png|upright=1.0|thumb|European bison's skeleton]]