European bison, European wood bison, Zubr, European buffalo
The wisent (Bison bonasus) or the European bison is a European species of bison. These animals were hunted to extinction in the wild in the early 20th century. Some of them were kept alive in captivity, and have since been reintroduced into several countries in Europe. They are now forest-dwelling.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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GraminivoreIn zoology, a graminivore (not to be confused with a granivore) is an herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass. Graminivory is a form of g...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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CursorialA cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. chee...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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GrazingGrazing is a method of feeding in which a herbivore feeds on plants such as grasses, or other multicellular organisms such as algae. In agriculture...
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BrowsingBrowsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore (or, more narrowly defined, a folivore) feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growi...
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ZoochoryZoochory animals are those that can disperse plant seeds in several ways. Seeds can be transported on the outside of vertebrate animals (mostly mam...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
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NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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HerdingA herd is a social grouping of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with...
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Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withWisents are the heaviest surviving wild land animals in Europe. Their coat is dense, dark to golden brown in color. They have a long mane over the forehead and underneath the neck. Both males and females have horns that are pointed forward through the plane of their faces, making them more adept at fighting.
Wisents are found in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Slovakia, and probably in Kyrgyzstan. These animals live in broad-leaved and coniferous forests and are often found in open grasslands.
Wisents are diurnal and social animals, which live in both mixed and only male groups. Mixed groups consist of adult females, calves, young aged 2-3 years, and young adult bulls. The average herd size is 8 to 13 animals. Herds consisting solely of bulls are smaller than mixed ones, containing 2 individuals on average. Wisents do not defend territory, and herd ranges tend to greatly overlap. Young bulls between 5-6 age usually form larger home ranges than older males. During the winter these animals often gather around feeding sites and form large mixed aggregations. Wisent herds are not family units. Different herds frequently interact, combine, and quickly split after exchanging individuals. Despite their usual slow movements, wisents are surprisingly agile. They can clear 3-m-wide streams or 2-m-high fences from a standing start.
Wisents are herbivorous (graminivorous, folivorous) animals. They feed mainly on grasses, although they also browse on shoots and leaves. In summer, an adult male can consume 32 kg of food in a day. Wisents need to drink every day, and in winter they can be seen breaking the ice with their heavy hooves.
Wisents are polygynous and with the start of the rutting season, males join mixed herds with cows. The rutting season occurs from August through to October. Females usually have a gestation period of 264 days, and typically give birth to one calf at a time. Calves are born fully developed and are able to stand soon after birth. In the first days after birth, calves usually lay most of their time while their mothers are feeding with the rest of the group. At one month of age, little wisents start to forage near their mothers. They are usually weaned at around 10-12 months of age. Females become reproductive mature when they are 3 years old, while males are ready to breed at 2 years of age.
In the past, especially during the Middle Ages, wisents were commonly killed for their hide and to produce drinking horns. At present, the main threats to these animals include conflict and political instability in the Caucasus, lack of habitat, fragmentation of populations, inbreeding and hybridization, disease, and poaching.
According to IUCN Red List, the total population size of the wisent in 2019 was 2,518 mature animals. Currently, this species is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List, but their numbers today are increasing.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...