Ten thousand years ago, the British Isles were a different place. The land mass was connected to Europe. glaciers were retreating as the last ice age ended. The now- extinct bison may have been roaming. The forest bison may have made their home in Britain in the past.
There are bison in the United Kingdom for the first time in at least 10,000 years. Three European bison were released into a forest called West Blean Woods on Sunday. The bison introduction is part of a project called "Wilder Blean" which is meant to promote stronger habitats by restoring natural processes that are able to survive the current environmental crisis.
In the southeastern corner of England, there is a 1,200-acre nature reserve. Almost all of the UK's forest is a degraded habitat with less flora and fauna than it used to have. Prior to the land being purchased by the KWT, half of the area was converted to timber plantations made up of non-native conifers.
Land managers have been trying to bring the landscape back to nature using standard techniques for years. chainsaws and large pieces of machinery have been used to remove large areas of trees. This is not ideal for animals.
The hope is that the European bison will fill a critical ecological niche and bring back more biodiversity to the forest via a mechanism less intrusive than power tools. The bison are an example of an engineer. Their behavior creates gaps in the forest canopy and microhabitats for a variety of plants and animals. There are seeds in their fur.
We want 'Wilder Blean' to be the start of a new era for the preservation of our environment. The chief executive of KWT told the Guardian that the way we restore natural landscapes needs to be changed.
Many non-native trees in West Blean are expected to be taken down by the bison by stripping their bark and creating less dense corridors through existing vegetation. Natural habitats aren't the same as plantation forests. Some of that heterogeneity can be brought back by the bison.
The bison could help the forest absorb and store more carbon dioxide if everything goes according to plan. Research shows the animals can increase a habitat's carbon sequestration.
American bison re-introductions in the Great Plains have helped to improve the health of the grassland. The Dutch bison project has been running for 15 years and has dramatically improved the habitat there.
Three bison were introduced to England yesterday, but they will be joined by a bull in August. The park is allowed to have up to 10 animals at any one time. The bison are restricted to just 12 acres and are not completely free to wander. More than a third of the total park area will be added later in the summer. The bison won't be given any supplemental food and will just have to eat.
Monitoring will be done to keep an eye on the bison and the forest. The Iron Age pigs will be introduced as part of the same project.
The project is centered on restoring the forest, but it is also a chance for the European bison, which is currently listed as "Near Threatened" by the International Union for the Preservation of Nature. In the wild, the species was hunted to extinction, but survived in captivity. More than 6,000 bison are found in about 47 free-ranging herds, thanks to re-introductions across the continent.
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