European bison Bison bonasus Near threatened
Where the European bison lives – recorded in 9 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.
Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 348 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See antelopes, wild cattle, sheep & goats on the world map
| Scientific name | Bison bonasus |
|---|---|
| Group | Antelopes, wild cattle, sheep & goats |
| Status | Near threatened (Wikidata, IUCN category label) |
| Found in | 9 countries |
| Continents | Europe |
| Class | Mammal |
| Order | Artiodactyla |
| Family | Bovidae |
Where does the European bison live?
Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the European bison in 9 countries and territories across Europe. In Russia it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).
Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.
Is the European bison endangered?
The European bison’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Near threatened” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the European bison?
The European bison (Bison bonasus) is a mammal in the order Artiodactyla and the family Bovidae, genus Bison. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)
About the European bison
The European bison (pl.: bison) (Bison bonasus) or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the American bison. The European bison is the heaviest wild land animal in Europe, and individuals in the past may have been even larger than their modern-day descendants. During late antiquity and the Middle Ages, bison became extinct in most of Europe and Asia, surviving into the 20th century only in northern-central Europe and the northern Caucasus Mountains. During the early years of the 20th century, the remaining bison were hunted to extinction in the wild, with domestic bison later reintroduced into the wild.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article European bison (revision 1377529408), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q81091 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).
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