Follwing text is a part of European bison Action Plan. New issues are already being prepared...

The Origin of the European bison

The general assumption is that the genus Bison (H. Smith, 1827) has its origin in southern Asia. From the late Pliocene of India (Sivalik) deposits of Probison dehmi (Sahmi et Kahn, 1968) are known, while Protobison kushkunensis (Burtschak-Abramowitsch, Gadziev et Vekua, 1980) comes from the late Pliocene of Trans-Caucasia. According to Flerov (1979) Bison sivalensis (Lydekker, ex Falconer, 1878) can be traced from the first of these forms. Late Pliocene Bison paleosinensis (Teilhard de Chardin et Pivetau, 1930) is probably a representative of B. priscus (Bojanus, 1829) (McDonald 1981). During the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene bison were widely spread throughout the temperate zones of Asia and Europe (cf. Figure 3.1). They also crossed the Bering Strait to North America (Flerov 1979). Forms reaching from Asia to Eastern Europe (near the Black Sea and the south Ukraine) during Villafranchium were relatively short-horned. Longhorn forms (B. priscus) developed in large areas of Europe and Asia, from England to Manchuria during the mid- Pleistocene. With the cessation of glaciation bison became smaller in size, especially in Western Europe, with shorter horns (cf. B. priscus mediator) as compared with East Europe and Asia (B. priscus gigas). During the early Holocene bison were still widespread but still did not inhabit northern Europe. At the end of the Würm (15,000 - 10,000 BP), a transitory form appeared between B. priscus and B. bonasus, described as B. bonasus major (Hilzheimer, 1918). B. bonasus did not occur in central Europe until the late Holocene. During the last glaciation (c.10,000 BP) B.bonasus appeared in Denmark, Sweden and in the Caucasian region. (cf. reviews in Pucek 1986; Bauer 2001). Flerov (1979) claims that both the European bison Bison bonasus and the wood bison Bison bison athabascae come from the Palearctic B. priscus. McDonald (1981) and some other authors claim, that the European bison may be derived from late Pleistocene re-emigrants from North America. Craniometrical research by van Zyll de Jong (1986) reveals a great similarity between Holocene and late Pleistocene bison of Eurasia and North America, which makes an earlier hypothesis of a common ancestor very probable (cf. Skinner and Kaisen 1947; Bohlken 1967). Most recent authors, on the base of significantly different morphotypes and extreme disjunctive distribution continue to give the European bison and North American bison the status of a separate species, disregarding their interbreeding (cf. Wilson and Reeder 1993). In this review, European bison Bison bonasus is treated as a separate species. This conclusion is significant when considering problems of genetic purity of Lowland European bison, B. b. bonasus and its crossbreeds with Caucasian subspecies B. b. caucasicus (Lowland-Caucasian line) as well as their hybrids with North American bison Bison bison.

European bison Bison bonasus (Linnaeus, 1758) belong to the Family Bovidae (Gray, 1872), Subfamily Bovinae (Gray, 1821), Genus Bison (H. Smith, 1827). Sometimes it is treated as a synonym of Bos (Linnaeus, 1758) according to Groves (1981). Three subspecies are recognized (but see Rautian et al. 2000): B. b. bonasus (Linnaeus, 1758) - (from Bia³owie¿a Forest) B. b. hungarorum (Kretzoi, 1946) - Carpathian Mountains and Transylvania, Extinct B. b. caucasicus (Turkin et Satunin, 1904) - Caucasus region, Extinct

In historical times the range of European bison covered western, central and south-eastern Europe, extending up to the Volga River and the Caucasus (Figure 8.1). European bison probably also occurred in the Asiatic part of the Russian Federation, but reconstruction of this range requires further research (Strategy 2002). There is a consistent opinion that the shrinkage of the European bison range on the continent was caused by the progress of civilization and that protective actions could not effectively protect the species. The process of extinction started from the west, the south and the north. Bison in Gallia were the first to die out (8th century). In the north of Sweden bison only survived until the 11th century. In the 7th century, the European bison's existence was reported from the north-east of France. In the Ardennes and in the Vogues these animals survived until the 14th century. In Brandenburg by the 16th century, they were already kept, and bred in enclosures. At the end of the 17th century (1689) an attempt was undertaken in Mecklenburg to release European bison from enclosures, however, this was unsuccessful. In the 12th century, the existence of European bison was reported from the Usocin Forest on the Oder River, near Szczecin. Bison existed in West Pomerania until the year 1364. Thanks to the protective actions of Wilhelm I, bison survived relatively long in eastern Prussia. In 1726, their number was estimated at 117 individuals (Genthe 1918), but in 1755 the last two animals were killed by poachers between Labiau (today Polesk) and Tilsit (today Sovetsk) (Karcov 1903; Heptner et al. 1966). From Prussia and Poland, European bison were transported to Saxony in the 16th century, and kept in enclosures. In the years of 1733 to 1746 these animals were set free. They survived in enclosures in Kreyern and later in Liebenwerda until 1793. In the 16th century bison became extinct in Hungary, although free animals survived a relatively long time in Transylvania. The last individual was poached in 1790. In Romania, the last European bison was killed in the Radnai Mountains in 1762. In Poland, by the 11th and 12th centuries bison populations were limited to larger forest complexes, where they were protected as the royal game. In the 15th century, they were found in Bia³owie¿a Forest, Niepo³omicka Forest, Sandomierska Forest, near Ratna on the Pripet River and in Volhynia (Sztolcman 1924). In the Kurpiowska Forest, they became extinct in the 18th century. The last European population in Bia³owie¿a Forest was protected until its extinction in the spring of 1919 (Genthe 1918; Sztolcman 1924; Wróblewski 1932; Oko³ów 1966; Krysiak 1967). There is direct and indirect evidence of the European bison's existence within the former Soviet Union until the 17th and 18th century. Along the River Don, European bison was preserved until 1709, in Moldova up to 1717. The last free population survived in the Caucasus until 1927 (Heptner et al. 1966; Kirikov 1979). It can be assumed that in historical times the European bison was subject to gradual shrinkage and fragmentation of the range, decreasing numbers and increasing isolation of sub-populations leading to extinction. An interesting theory refers to the effect of climate on the range of bison. According to Heptner et al. (1966), the depth of snow cover (50cm-thick snow cover limited the species' spread to the north) determined the northern border of the species range (see also Vereshchagin and Baryshnikov 1985). In many regions inhabited by bison in historical times, the thickness of snow cover exceeded that value (e.g., within the last 50 years in the Bia³owie¿a Forest the monthly maximum depths of snow cover approached that value in five years, exceeding it considerably in two years - 1970 and 1979). This could be a significant factor hindering the bison's survival in that part of its range