The population of bison on the territory of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park has increased compared to last year, the nature protection agency reports
“The census of the bison population in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha, conducted by the nature protection agency staff in January-March, has been completed,” the park’s scientific department noted. “The generalised results of the census are presented as of January 1st, 2025. A total of 726 bison were counted, 8 of which are kept in demonstration enclosures. Compared to 2024, the population has increased by 36 animals.”
Specialists noted that the records covered the entire territory of the national park, as well as the areas of adjacent land users.
“During the bison surveys, not only the number of animals was determined but also the population structure by gender and age,” the scientific department added. “In large concentrations of bison (more than 50 individuals), surveys were conducted using a quadrocopter and a camera with a long-focus lens.”
According to the survey results, 132 adult males (over 3.5 years old), 378 adult females, 127 young animals (1.5-3.5 years old), and 89 calves were born in 2024. During the winter period, bison were recorded in the Svisloch, Pruzhany and Kamenets districts of the Brest Region.
The bison is the oldest animal on the planet, and its last refuge was the primeval forest of the Belovezhskaya Pushcha. However, the last wild bison died here in 1919. The revival of these animals in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha was started by a group of three Belovezhskaya Pushcha-Caucasian individuals imported in 1929-1930. However, after WWII the bison nursery remained in the Polish part of the Pushcha territory. In 1946, a new nursery was organised in a forest area 12km away from the village of Kamenyuki. Today, the European bison can be considered to have been saved from imminent extinction: the world population of these animals has approached 10,000 individuals.
