European bison on 'genetic brink' of extinction
By Matt Walker, Editor, Earth News Europe’s largest mammal, the European bison, remains extremely vulnerable to extinction, despite long-standing efforts to save it, new research shows. One of the two remaining wild herds of pure bred European bison is down to an effective population size of just 25. That is despite the actual number of wild bison in the herd having steadily risen to around 800. The effective population measures the bison’s genetic diversity, and can help predict the animal’s survival chances. At 3m long, 2m tall and weighing up to 900kg, the European bison (Bison bonasus) is Europe’s heaviest surviving land mammal. It survives in the wild in just two herds, each living on either side of the Bialowieza forest which straddles Belarus and Poland. … For hundreds of years, the European bison was protected across large parts of its European range, being considered ‘King’s game’ protected by the monarchy and Russian tsars that conquered Poland. But early in the 20th Century, its numbers crashed as people left hungry by World War I and a lack of protection saw ruthless poaching of the animals for meat and hide. …
