European Bison

The European bison (Bison bonasus), also known as wisent (/ˈviːzənt/ or /ˈwiːzənt/) or the European wood bison, is a Eurasian species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the American bison. Three subspecies existed in the recent past, but only one survives today. The species is, theoretically, descended from a hybrid, a cross between a female aurochs, the extinct wild ancestor of modern cattle, and a male Steppe bison; the possible hybrid is referred to informally as the Higgs bison. Alternatively, the Pleistocene woodland bison has been suggested as the ancestor to the species.

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 the Belarus-Poland border) in 1921, and the last of B. b. caucasus in the northwestern Caucasus in 1927.[6] B. b. hungarorum was hunted to extinction in the mid-1800s. The Białowieża or lowland European bison was kept alive in captivity, and has since been reintroduced into several countries in Europe. They are now forest-dwelling. The species has had few recent predators besides humans, with only scattered reports from the 19th century of wolf and bear predation. European bison were first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Some later descriptions treat the European bison as conspecific with the American bison. It is not to be confused with the aurochs, the extinct ancestor of domestic cattle.

In 1996, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the European bison as an endangered species. Its status has since been changed to being a vulnerable species. In the past, especially during the Middle Ages, it was commonly killed for its hide and to produce drinking horns.