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By the late 2010s, the species numbered several thousand and had been returned to the wild by captive breeding programmes. It is no longer in immediate danger of extinction, but remains absent from most of its historical range. It is not to be confused with the aurochs (Bos primigenius), the extinct ancestor of domestic cattle, with which it once co-existed.
Besides humans, bison have few predators. In the 19th century, there were scattered reports of wolves, lions, tigers, and
bears hunting bison. In the past, especially during the Middle Ages, humans commonly killed bison for their hide and meat. They used their horns to make drinking horns.
European bison were hunted to extinction in the wild in the early 20th century, with the last wild animals of the B. b. bonasus subspecies being shot in the Białowieża Forest (on today's Belarus–Poland border) in 1921. The last of the Caucasian wisent subspecies (B. b. caucasicus) was shot in the northwestern Caucasus in 1927.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Carpathian wisent (B. b. hungarorum) had been hunted to extinction by 1852.
The Białowieża or lowland European bison was kept alive in captivity, and has since been reintroduced into several countries in Europe. In 1996, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the European bison as an endangered species, no longer extinct in the wild. Its status has improved since then, changing to vulnerable and later to near-threatened.
European bison were first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Some later descriptions treat the European bison as conspecific with the American bison. Three subspecies of the European bison existed in the recent past, but only one, the nominate subspecies (B. b. bonasus), survives today. The ancestry and relationships of the wisent to fossil bison species remain controversial and disputed.
In the 18th century the name of the European animal was applied to the closely related American bison (initially in Latin in 1693, by John Ray) and the Indian bison (the gaur, Bos gaurus).<ref name=":3" /> Historically, the word was also applied to Indian domestic cattle, the zebu (B. indicus or B. primigenius indicus).<ref name=":3" /> Because of the scarcity of the European bison, the word 'bison' was most familiar in relation to the American species.<ref name=":3" />
The European bison is the heaviest surviving wild land animal in Europe. Similar to their American cousins, European bison were potentially larger historically than remnant descendants;<ref name=WWFRussia /> modern animals are about Template:Convert in length, not counting a tail of Template:Convert, Template:Convert in height, and Template:Convert in weight for males, and about Template:Convert in body length without tails, Template:Convert in height, and Template:Convert in weight for females.<ref name=WWFRussia>Semenov U.A. of WWF-Russia, 2014, "The Wisents of Karachay-Cherkessia", Proceedings of the Sochi National Park (8), pp.23–24, Template:ISBN, KMK Scientific Press</ref> At birth, calves are quite small, weighing between Template:Convert. In the free-ranging population of the Białowieża Forest of Belarus and Poland, body masses among adults (aged 6 and over) are Template:Convert on average in the cases of males, and Template:Convert among females.<ref name="lhnet.org">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An occasional big bull European bison can weigh up to Template:Convert or more<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Boitani, Luigi, Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone Books (1984), Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="Burnie">Burnie D and Wilson DE (Eds.), Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife. DK Adult (2005), Template:ISBN</ref> with old bull records of Template:Convert for lowland wisent and Template:Convert for Caucasian wisent.<ref name=WWFRussia />
On average, it is lighter in body mass, and yet slightly taller at the shoulder, than its American relatives, the wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) and the plains bison (Bison bison bison).<ref name=QuaternaryInternational2016>Gennady G. Boeskorov, Olga R. Potapova, Albert V. Protopopov, Valery V. Plotnikov, Larry D. Agenbroad, Konstantin S. Kirikov, Innokenty S. Pavlov, Marina V. Shchelchkova, Innocenty N. Belolyubskii, Mikhail D. Tomshin, Rafal Kowalczyk, Sergey P. Davydov, Stanislav D. Kolesov, Alexey N. Tikhonov, Johannes van der Plicht, 2016, "The Yukagir Bison: The exterior morphology of a complete frozen mummy of the extinct steppe bison, Bison priscus from the early Holocene of northern Yakutia, Russia", pp.7, Quaternary International, Vol.406 (25 June 2016), Part B, pp.94–110</ref> Compared to the American species, the wisent has shorter hair on the neck, head, and forequarters, but longer tail and horns. See differences from American bison.
The European bison makes a variety of vocalisations depending on its mood and behaviour, but when anxious, it emits a growl-like sound, known in Polish as chruczenie (Template:IPAc-pl). This sound can also be heard from wisent males during the mating season.<ref name = pzł>Template:Cite web</ref>
The similar skeletal morphology of the wisent with the steppe bison (Bison priscus) which also formerly inhabited Europe complicates the understanding of the early evolution of the European bison. It is thought that European bison genetically diverged from steppe bison (as well as modern American bison, which are descended from steppe bison) at least 100,000 years ago.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":4">Template:Cite journal</ref> While nuclear DNA indicates that the two living bison species are each other's closest living relatives, the mitochondrial DNA of European bison is more closely related to that of aurochs and their domestic cattle descendants, which is suggested to be the result of either incomplete lineage sorting or ancient introgression.<ref name=":4" />
Genetic evidence indicates that European bison were present across Europe, from Spain (where a sedimentary ancient DNA record is known from El Miron Cave in Cantabria<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>supplemental material) to the Caucasus during the Last Glacial Period, where they co-existed alongside steppe bison.<ref name=":5" /> Cave paintings appear to distinguish between B. bonasus and B. priscus.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Late Pleistocene European bison belong to two mitochondrial genome lineages, which one study estimated to have split around 400,000 years ago, Bb1 (also known as Bison X, and sometimes controversially attributed to the species Bison schoetensacki, which is otherwise known from remains hundreds of thousands of years older<ref name=":4" />) and Bb2. Bb1 has been found across Europe spanning from France to the Caucasus, while Bb2 was originally only found in the Caucasus before expanding westwards from around 14,000 years ago. Bb1 became extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene, with all modern European bison belonging to the Bb2 lineage.<ref name=":4" /> At the end of the Last Glacial Period steppe bison became extinct in Europe, leaving European bison as the only bison species in the region.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite journal</ref>
While some studies have estimated that modern European bison derive 10% of their ancestry from aurochs via interspecies gene flow, other authors have considered this a gross overstimate and based on flawed data, and not supported by the data from the full nuclear genome of the wisent, and that the actual contribution from aurochs/cattle around 2.4-3.2%, which is suggested to have occurred in the last 70,000 years.<ref name=":4" />
Historically, the lowland European bison's range encompassed most of the lowlands of northern Europe, extending from the Massif Central to the Volga River and the Caucasus. It may have once lived in the Asiatic part of what is now the Russian Federation, reaching to Lake Baikal and Altai Mountains in east.<ref>Taras Petrovich Sipko, 2009, European bison in Russia – past, present and futureTemplate:Webarchive (pdf) the European Bison Conservation Newsletter Vol 2 (2009), pp.148–159, the Institute of Problems Ecology and Evolution RAS, Retrieved on October 18, 2022</ref> The European bison is known in southern Sweden only between 9500 and 8700 BP, and in Denmark similarly is documented only from the Pre-Boreal.<ref>The Holocene distribution of European bison – the archaeozoological record. Norbert Benecke. Munibe (Antropologia_Arkeologia) 57 421–428 2005. Template:ISSN. Refers to Liljegren R. and Ekstrom J., 1996. The terrestrial late Glacial fauna in south Sweden. In L. Larsson (Hrsg). The earliest settlement of Scandinavia and its relationship with neighbouring areas. Acta Archaeologica Lundensia 8, 24, 135–139, Stockholm.</ref> It is not recorded from the British Isles, nor from Italy or the Iberian Peninsula during the Holocene.<ref name=Euskomedia>Template:Cite web</ref>
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).<ref name=Arist4th /> In the same wider area Pausanias calling them 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/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, Template:ISBN, 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.
In 1513 the Białowieża Forest, at this point one of the last areas on Earth where the European bison still roamed free, was transferred from the Troki Voivodeship of Lithuania to the Podlaskie Voivodeship, which after the Union of Lublin became part of the Polish Crown. In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, at first European bison in the Białowieża Forest were legally the property of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania and later belonged to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. Polish-Lithuanian rulers took measures to protect the European bison, such as King Sigismund II Augustus who instituted the death penalty for poaching bison in Białowieża in the mid-16th century. Wild European bison herds existed in the forest until the mid-17th century. In 1701, King Augustus II the Strong greatly increased protection over the forest; the first written sources mentioning the use of some forest meadows for the production of winter fodder for the bison come from this period.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the early 19th century, after the partitions of the Polish Commonwealth, the Russian tsars retained old Polish-Lithuanian laws protecting the European bison herd in Białowieża. Despite these measures and others, the European bison population continued to decline over the following century, with only Białowieża and Northern Caucasus populations surviving into the 20th century.<ref name="bison" /><ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref> The last European bison in Transylvania died in 1790.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
During World War I, occupying German troops killed 600 of the European bison in the Białowieża Forest for sport, meat, hides and horns.<ref name="bison"/> A German scientist informed army officers that the European bison were facing imminent extinction, but at the very end of the war, retreating German soldiers shot all but nine animals.<ref name="bison">"Lake Pape – Bison", World Wide Fund for NatureTemplate:Full citation neededTemplate:Webarchive</ref><ref name=":2" /> The last wild European bison in Poland was killed in 1921. The last wild European bison in the world was killed by poachers in 1927 in the western Caucasus. By that year, 48<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> remained, all held by zoos. The International Society for the Preservation of the Wisent was founded on 25 and 26 August 1923 in Berlin, following the example of the American Bison Society. The first chairman was Kurt Priemel, director of the Frankfurt Zoo, and among the members were experts like Hermann Pohle, Max Hilzheimer and Julius Riemer. The first goal of the society was to take stock of all living bison, in preparation for a breeding programme. Important members were the Polish Hunting Association and the Poznań zoological gardens, as well as a number of Polish private individuals, who provided funds to acquire the first bison cows and bulls. The breeding book was published in the company's annual report from 1932. While Priemel aimed to grow the population slowly with pure conservation of the breeding line, Lutz Heck planned to grow the population faster by cross-breeding with American bison in a separate breeding project in Munich, in 1934.
Heck gained the support of then ReichsjägermeisterHermann Göring, who hoped for huntable big game.<ref>Irina Steinmann: Nils Seethaler hat zur Person Julius Riemer geforscht. In: Wittenberger Sonntag vom 10. Mai 2019.</ref> Heck promised his powerful supporter in writing: "Since surplus bulls will soon be set, the hunting of the Wisent will be possible again in the foreseeable future". Göring himself took over the patronage of the German Professional Association of Wisent Breeders and Hegers, founded at Heck's suggestion. Kurt Priemel, who had since resigned as president of the International Society for the Preservation of the Wisent, warned in vain against "manification". Heck answered by announcing that Göring would take action against Priemel if he continued to oppose his crossing plans. Priemel was then banned from publishing in relation to bison breeding, and the regular bookkeeper of the International Society, Erna Mohr, was forced to hand over the official register in 1937. Thus, the older society was effectively incorporated into the newly created Professional Association. After the Second World War, therefore, only the pure-blooded bison in the game park Springe near Hanover were recognised as part of the international herd book.<ref>Urmacher unerwünscht. Berliner Zoo. In: Der Spiegel vom 23. Juni 1954.</ref><ref>Frank G. Wörner: DER WISENT – Ein Erfolg des Artenschutzes: Notizen zur Rettung und Rückkehr eines Giganten. In: Veröffentlichungen des Tierparks Niederfischbach gemeinsam mit dem regionalen Naturschutzverein Ebertseifen Lebensräume e. V., 2006.</ref>
The first two bison were released into the wild in the Białowieża Forest in 1929.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1964 more than 100 existed.<ref name="ley196412">Template:Cite magazine</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>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</ref> In May 2024, a small population was released in central Portugal.<ref name="rcb-radiocovadabeira.pt">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012 and 2019 bisons were released in protected areas on Bornholm and Northern Jutland, Denmark.
The European bison is a herd animal, which lives in both mixed and solely male groups. Mixed groups consist of adult females, calves, young aged 2–3 years, and young adult bulls. The average herd size is dependent on environmental factors, though on average, they number eight to 13 animals per herd. Herds consisting solely of bulls are smaller than mixed ones, containing two individuals on average. European bison herds are not family units. Different herds frequently interact, combine, and quickly split after exchanging individuals.<ref name="pucek" />
Bison social structure has been described by specialists as a matriarchy, as it is the cows of the herd that lead it, and decide where the entire group moves to graze.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although larger and heavier than the females, the oldest and most powerful male bulls are usually satellites that hang around the edges of the herd to protect the group.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Bulls begin to serve a more active role in the herd when a danger to the group's safety appears, as well as during the mating season – when they compete with each other.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Territory held by bulls is correlated by age, with young bulls aged between five and six tending to form larger home ranges than older males. The European bison does not defend territory, and herd ranges tend to greatly overlap. Core areas of territory are usually sited near meadows and water sources.<ref name="pucek" />
The rutting season occurs from August through to October. Bulls aged 4–6 years, though sexually mature, are prevented from mating by older bulls. Cows usually have a gestation period of 264 days, and typically give birth to one calf at a time.<ref name="pucek" />
On average, male calves weigh Template:Convert at birth, and females Template:Convert. Body size in males increases proportionately to the age of 6 years. While females have a higher increase in body mass in their first year, their growth rate is comparatively slower than that of males by the age of 3–5. Bulls reach sexual maturity at the age of two, while cows do so in their third year.<ref name="pucek" />
European bison have lived as long as 30 years in captivity,<ref name="babalu">Template:Cite news(in Portuguese)</ref> but in the wild their lifespan is usually between 18 and 24 years, with females living longer than males.<ref name=żubryonline>Template:Cite web</ref> Productive breeding years are between four and 20 years of age in females, and only between six and 12 years of age in males.
European bison feed predominantly on grasses, although they also browse on shoots and leaves; in summer, an adult male can consume 32 kg of food in a day.<ref name=BSG>Template:Cite book</ref> European bison in the Białowieża Forest in Poland have traditionally been fed hay in the winter for centuries, and large herds may gather around this diet supplement.<ref name=BSG /> European bison need to drink every day, and in winter can be seen breaking ice with their heavy hooves.<ref name=UU>Template:Cite web</ref>
Although superficially similar, a number of physical and behavioural differences are seen between the European bison and the American bison. The bison has 14 pairs of ribs, while the American bison has 15.<ref>The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge by Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain), published by C. Knight, 1835</ref>
Adult European bison are (on average) taller than American bison, and have longer legs.<ref>Trophy Bowhunting: Plan the Hunt of a Lifetime and Bag One for the Record Books, by Rick Sapp, Edition: illustrated, published by Stackpole Books, 2006, Template:ISBN, 978-0-8117-3315-1</ref> European bison tend to browse more, and graze less than their American relatives; to accommodate this their necks are set differently. Compared to the American bison, the nose of the European bison is set further forward than the forehead when the neck is in a neutral position.
The body of the wisent is less hairy, though its tail is hairier than that of the American species. The horns of the European bison point forward through the plane of their faces, making them more adept at fighting through the interlocking of horns in the same manner as domestic cattle, unlike the American bison, which favours charging.<ref>American Bison: A Natural History, By Dale F. Lott, Harry W. Greene, ebrary, Inc., Contributor Harry W. Greene, Edition: illustrated, Published by University of California Press, 2003 Template:ISBN, 978-0-520-24062-9</ref> European bison are less tameable than the American ones, and breed with domestic cattle less readily.<ref>Zoologist: A Monthly Journal of Natural History, By Edward Newman, James Edmund Harting, Published by J. Van Voorst, 1859</ref>
The European bison is less shaggy, with a more lanky body shape.<ref name="Rewilding Europe 2014">Template:Cite web</ref>
In terms of behavioural capability, European bison runs slower and with less stamina yet jumps higher and longer than American bisons, showing signs of more developed adaptations into mountainous habitats.<ref name=WWFRussia />
The protection of the European bison has a long history; between the 15th and 18th centuries, those in the forest of Białowieża were protected and their diet supplemented.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Efforts to restore this species to the wild began in 1929, with the establishment of the Bison Restitution Centre at Białowieża, Poland.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Subsequently, in 1948, the Bison Breeding Centre was established within the Prioksko-Terrasny Biosphere Reserve.
The modern herds are managed as two separate lines – one consisting of only Bison bonasus bonasus (all descended from only seven animals) and one consisting of all 12 ancestors, including the one B. b. caucasicus bull.<ref name="BSGE">Template:Cite web</ref> The latter is generally not considered a separate subspecies because they contain DNA from both B. b. bonasus and B. b. caucasicius, although some scientists classify them as a new subspecies, B. b. montanus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Only a limited amount of inbreeding depression from the population bottleneck has been found, having a small effect on skeletal growth in cows and a small rise in calf mortality. Genetic variability continues to shrink. From five initial bulls, all current European bison bulls have one of only two remaining Y chromosomes.
Beginning in 1951, European bison have been reintroduced into the wild, including some areas where they were never found wild.<ref name="rwbz" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Free-ranging herds are currently found in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Slovakia,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Latvia, Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan, Germany,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and in forest preserves in the Western Caucasus. The Białowieża Primeval Forest, an ancient woodland that straddles the border between Poland and Belarus, continues to have the largest free-living European bison population in the world with around 1000 wild bison counted in 2014.<ref name=ostoja>Template:Cite web</ref> Herds have also been introduced in Moldova (2005),<ref>"Bison in the Republic of Moldova"Template:Webarchive, IATP</ref> Spain (2010),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Denmark (2012),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Czech Republic (2014),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Portugal (2024)<ref name="rcb-radiocovadabeira.pt"/>
Reintroduction of bison to a 52 square km grasslands area in the Țarcu Mountains of Romania in 2014 was found to have resulted in an additional 54,000 tons of carbon draw-down annually.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
As below-mentioned, there are established herds in Spain, Portugal and Italy, however European bison has not been recorded naturally from the Italian Peninsulas,<ref name=Euskomedia /> while these regions were once inhabited by Pleistocene woodland bison and Steppe bison.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>P. Bologna, C. Petronio, 1994, The first occurrence of Bison priscus Bojanus in the Melpignano area (Lecce, southern Italy), Bollettino—Societa Paleontologica Italiana, vol. 33, no. 2, pp.275–278</ref><ref>Jone Castaños, Pedro Castaños, Xabier Murelaga, 2016, First Complete Skull of a Late Pleistocene Steppe Bison ( Bison priscus ) in the Iberian Peninsula, Ameghiniana, 53(5), pp.543-551</ref>
The total worldwide population recorded in 2019 was around 7,500 – about half of this number being in Poland and Belarus, with over 25% of the global population located in Poland alone.<ref name="lbn-pż" /> For 2016, the number was 6,573 (including 4,472 free-ranging) and has been increasing.<ref name=eurowildlife>Template:Cite web</ref> Some local populations are estimated as:
Template:Flagcountry: Two herds were established in the summer of 2012, as part of conservation of the species. First, fourteen animals were released in meadows near the town of Randers, and later, seven animals on Bornholm. In June 2012, one male and six females were moved from Poland to the Danish island Bornholm. The plan was to examine if it is possible to establish a wild population of bison on the island over a five-year period.<ref name="denbis">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2018, it was decided to keep the bison on Bornholm, but maintained within the large fenced-in part of the Almindingen forest where originally introduced. In 2019, the bison that initially had been introduced near Randers were moved to the more suitable and spacious Lille Vildmose; these were supplemented by seven animals from the Netherlands in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagcountry: One herd was established in 2005 in the Alps near the village of Thorenc (close to the city of Grasse), as part of conservation of the species. In 2015, it contained around 50 animals.Template:Citation needed
Template:Flagcountry: A herd of 8 animals (1 male, 5 females, and 2 calves) was released into nature in April 2013 at the Rothaarsteig natural reserve near Bad Berleburg (North Rhine-Westphalia)<ref>Bison return to Germany after 300-year absenceTemplate:Webarchive. Mongabay.com</ref> after 850 years of absence since the species became extinct in that region.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of May 2015, 13 free-roaming wisents lived there.Template:Citation needed In September 2017 one of the free-living Polish animals swam the border river Oder and migrated to Germany. It was the first wild bison seen in Germany for more than 250 years. German authorities ordered the animal to be killed and it was shot dead by hunters in September 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2020, the population has steadily increased to 26 individuals, living in one subpopulation.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />
Template:Flagcountry: A small herd can be found in the Natura Viva Park near Verona, Italy, where the animals are protected and are prepared to be put in nature again in the wild areas of Romania.
Template:Flagcountry: Extirpated from Moldova since the 18th century, wisents were reintroduced with the arrival of three European bison from Białowieża Forest in Poland several days before Moldova's Independence Day on 27 August 2005.<ref name="molbis">Template:Cite news</ref> Moldova is currently interested in expanding their wisent population, and began talks with Belarus in 2019 regarding a bison exchange program between the two countries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Bisons can be found in Pădurea Domnească.
Template:Flagcountry: Natuurpark Lelystad: In 1976, the first wisent arrived from Białowieża. Natuurpark Lelystad is a breeding centre with a herd of approx. 25 animals living together with Przewalski's horses. All wisents are registered in the European Studbook and are of the Lowland line. It is one of the suppliers for re-introduction projects in Europe. Kraansvlak herd established in 2007 with three wisents, and expanded to six in 2008;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Maashorst herd established in 2016 with 11 wisents;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Veluwe herd established in 2016 with a small herd.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2020 a new herd of 14 bison was established in the Slikken van de Heen.Template:Citation needed Numbers at the end of 2017 were: Lelystad 24, Kraansvlak 22, Maashorst 15 and the Veluwe 5, for a total of 66 animals.
Template:Flagcountry: A herd of 8 bisons were introduced in central Portugal for the first time in 2024 in Termas de Monfortinho and Herdade do Vale Freitoso, through the "Rewilding Portugal" programme.<ref name="rcb-radiocovadabeira.pt"/>
Template:Flagcountry: The European bison were reintroduced in 1958, when the first two animals were brought from Poland and kept in a reserve in Hațeg. Similar locations later appeared in Vama Buzăului (Valea Zimbrilor Nature Reserve) and Bucșani, Dâmbovița. The idea of free bison, on the Romanian territory, was born in 1999, through a program supported by the World Bank and the European Union.<ref name="rl">Template:Cite news</ref> Almost 160 free-roaming animals, as of 2019, population slowly increasing in the four areas where wild bison can be found: Northern Romania – Vânători-Neamț Natural Park, and South-West Romania – Țarcu Mountains and Poiana Ruscă Mountains, as part of the Life-Bison project initiated by WWF Romania and Rewilding Europe, with co-funding from the EU through its LIFE Programme,<ref name="rl"/><ref>Southern CarpathianTemplate:Webarchive (Rewilding Europe)</ref> but also in the Southern Carpathians, in the Făgăraș Mountains, as part of the Foundation Conservation Carpathia project, carried out within the LIFE Carpathia project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 2019, Foundation Conservation Carpathia has started to reintroduce the European Bison in the Făgăraș Mountains, after more than 200 years since their disappearance from the central forests of Romania. Foundation Conservation Carpathia aims to reintroduce 75 European bisons into the Făgăraș Mountains.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In June 2024, 14 additional bison were brought to the southern Carpathian mountains from Germany and Sweden.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagcountry: As of 2020, the population of Wisents in Russia has greatly recovered and stands at 1,588 individuals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagcountry: In March 2022, 5 animals (one bull and four cows) were reintroduced where bison went extinct c.1800. Animals were transported from the Białowieża Forest and reintroduced on the Fruška Gora mountain.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagcountry: A bison reserve was established in Topoľčianky in 1958.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The reserve has a maximum capacity of 13 animals but has bred around 180 animals for various zoos. As of 2020, there was also a wild breeding herd of 48 animals in Poloniny National Park with an increasing population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagcountry: Two herds in northern Spain were established in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2018, the total population neared a hundred animals, half of them in Castile and León, but also in Asturias, Valencia, Extremadura and the Pyrenees.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Flagcountry: There are approximately 139 animals.<ref name="All About Bison:Europe"/>
Template:Flagcountry: More than 50 animals.Template:Citation needed Coming from Poland, one male and four females were introduced in November 2019 into the natural reserve and forest of Suchy, Vaud Canton, western Switzerland. On 15 June 2020, the first baby of that population was born.<ref name="swizbis">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Besides the Suchy breeding station, several zoos in Switzerland are keeping bison too. From September 2022, at least five animals will be kept in semi-freedom in Welschenrohr, with hiking paths cutting through the enclosure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagcountry: A population of around 400 animals, population was recently introduced to several national parks and is increasing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> State program of conservation and reproduction was approved in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The largest European bison herds — of both captive and wild populations — are still located in Poland and Belarus,<ref name="lbn-pż" /> the majority of which can be found in the Białowieża Forest including the most numerous population of free-living European bison in the world with most of the animals living on the Polish side of the border.<ref name=ostoja /> Poland remains the world's breeding centre for the wisent.<ref name = pzł /> In the years 1945 to 2014, from the Białowieża National Park alone, 553 specimens were sent to most captive populations of the bison in Europe as well as all breeding sanctuaries for the species in Poland.<ref name=ostoja />
Since 1983, a small reintroduced population lives in the Altai Mountains. This population suffers from inbreeding depression and needs the introduction of unrelated animals for "blood refreshment". In the long term, authorities hope to establish a population of about 1,000 animals in the area. One of the northernmost current populations of the European bison lives in Vologodskaya Oblast in the Northern Dvina valley at about 60°N. It survives without supplementary winter feeding. Another Russian population lives in the forests around the Desna River on the border between Russia and Ukraine.<ref name="Sipko"/> The north-easternmost population lives in Pleistocene Park south of Chersky in Siberia, a project to recreate the steppe ecosystem which began to be altered 10,000 years ago. Five wisents were introduced on 24 April 2011. The wisents were brought to the park from the Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve near Moscow. The bison originated from a population in Denmark. Winter temperatures often drop below −50 °C. Four of the five bison have subsequently died due to problems acclimatizing to the low winter temperature.
Representations of the European bison from different ages, across millennia of human society's existence, can be found throughout Eurasia in the form of drawings and rock carvings; one of the oldest and most famous instances of the latter can be found in the Cave of Altamira, present-day Spain, where cave art featuring the wisent from the Upper Paleolithic was discovered.<ref name=sztych2014>Template:Cite journal</ref> The bison has also been represented in a wide range of art in human history, such as sculptures, paintings, photographs, glass art, and more.<ref name=sztych2008>Template:Cite journal</ref> Sculptures of the wisent constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries continue to stand in a number of European cities; arguably the most notable of these are the zubr statue in Spała from 1862 designed by Mihály Zichy and the two bison sculptures in Kiel sculpted by August Gaul in 1910–1913. However, a number of other monuments to the animal also exist, such as those in Hajnówka and Pszczyna or at the Kyiv Zoo entrance.<ref name=sztych2008 /><ref name=sztych2014 /> Mikołaj Hussowczyk, a poet writing in Latin about the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the early 16th century, described the bison in a historically significant fictional work from 1523.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The European bison is considered one of the national animals of Poland and Belarus.<ref name="all about bison" /> Due to this and the fact that half of the worldwide European bison population can be found spread across these two countries,<ref name="lbn-pż" /> the wisent is still featured prominently in the heraldry of these neighbouring states (especially in the overlapping region of Eastern Poland and Western Belarus).<ref name=sztych2008 /> Examples in Poland include the coats of arms of: the counties of Hajnówka and Zambrów, the towns Sokółka and Żywiec, the villages Białowieża and Narewka, as well as the coats of arms of the Pomian and Wieniawa families. Examples in Belarus include the Grodno and Brest voblasts, the town of Svislach, and others. The European bison can also be found on the coats of arms of places in neighbouring countries: Perloja in southern Lithuania, Lypovets and Zubrytsia in west-central Ukraine, and Zubří in east Czechia – as well as further outside the region, such as Kortezubi in the Basque Country, and Jabel in Germany.
A flavoured vodka called Żubrówka (Template:IPAc-pl), originating as a recipe of the szlachta of the Kingdom of Poland in the 14th century, has since 1928 been industrially produced as a brand in Poland.<ref name="żubrówka">Template:Cite web</ref> In the decades that followed, it became known as the "world's best known Polish vodka"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and sparked the creation of a number of copy brands inspired by the original in Belarus, Russia, Germany, as well as other brands in Poland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The original Polish brand is known for placing a decorative blade of bison grass from the Białowieża Forest in each bottle of their product; both the plant's name in Polish and the vodka are named after żubr, the Polish name for the European bison.<ref name="żubrówka"/> The bison also appears commercially as a symbol of a number of other Polish brands, such as the popular beer brand Żubr and on the logo of Poland's second largest bank, Bank Pekao S.A.<ref name=sztych2008 />
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