‘Extinct’ wild bison to roam in Britain for first time in 15,000 years
WILD bison are to be reintroduced to Britain after 15,000 years as part of a groundbreaking rewilding conservation scheme.
The mammals are not thought to have roamed British soil for thousands of years, and became extinct in Europe in 1919. European countries that have successfully reintroduced bison include Poland, Romania and the Netherlands.
The European bison is the closest living relative to ancient steppe bison, conservationists said. A closely knit herd of four European bison are to be released into a fenced 1,200-acre area away from public footpaths – the first time bison have been introduced to a nature reserve in the UK.
It is hoped the £1million project by Kent Wildlife Trust and the Wildwood Trust at Blean Woods near Canterbury, will show the benefits bison have on the natural environment, and they will eventually be allowed to roam without being fenced.
The scheme also aims to protect rare animals such as the heath fritillary, an endangered butterfly, as bison affect their woodland habitat in ways that are beneficial to dwindling wildlife. They fell trees by rubbing against them, and eat bark, creating space and light in the woods and providing deadwood that helps plants and animals.
Kent Wildlife Trust said patches of bare earth creating by the bison “dust bathing” would be good for lizards, burrowing wasps and rare arable weeds, while bark stripping would create standing deadwood that benefits fungi and insects such as stag beetles.
The Wildlife Trusts aim to use this project to show a “wild” approach to conservation along with reintroducing species to Britain is more effective than tightly managing nature reserves.
Paul Hadaway, conservation director, Kent Wildlife Trust, said: “A wilder, nature-based solution is the right one to tackle the climate and nature crisis we now face. Using missing keystone species like bison to restore natural processes to habitats is the key to creating bio-abundance in our landscape.”
Craig Bennett, the CEO of the Wildlife Trusts, has said all animals made extinct in Britain should be reintroduced, including bears.
‘A wilder, naturebased solution is the right one to tackle the climate and nature crisis we now face’