Bison heading for Bornholm, Denmark

15 June 2010

A forest stroll in the forest Almindingen on the Danish island Bornholm may in the future offer the sighting of a herd of grazing bison. This may be the result if the pilot study launched by the Ministry of Environment gives green light for getting the largest land animal of our continent, the European bison, back in free range on Danish ground.

Increase biodiversity of Almindingen, a Natura-2000 area

The bison is a fantastic entrepeneur that will increase the biodiversity of Almindingen, a Natura-2000 area. The magnificent grazer feed mainly on grass and rush that are not parts of the menu of the roe deer. On the other hand, the bison eats great quantities and thereby creates light openings in the forest, that are gifts for biodiversity. To get a native species back to Danish nature is a natural strategy when biodiversity and nature management and is to go hand in hand, says minister of environment Karen Ellemann who hopes that a stock of European bison ochsen on the Baltic See island may also rub off positively on tourism on Bornholm.

Globally threatened species

To get the bison back will be a Danish contribution to the conservation of a globally threatened species. The bison is a rather shy animal that flees when it sees humans or cars. In spite of its size,the bison is not an agressive animal. Alminindingen is the fifth largest forest area of Denmark and fulfills with its size and characteristics the requirements that the bison has for a habitat.

It is the Danish Forest and Nature Agency that carries out the pilot study. If the bisons gets the go ahead a stock will be shipped from Poland to Bornholm where they at first are to be released in an enclosure where behaviour and effect on nature will be studied in detail before the fence is removed and the bisons released. It is simple to make fence for bison, since there is only needed three electric wires that roe deer and hares may pass easily, maintaining free movement.

Native species make comeback

The European bison has been away from Danish nature since the Iron Age more than 2.500 years ago when it was hunted and extirpated by humans. If the pilot project gives green light for the comeback of the species to Denmark, it will not be the first native species that is reintroduced to the country. Beaver has been released in Jutland and last autumn on Zealand. In the year 2003, wild horses were introduced on the island of Langeland.

Tags: Bison, Bornholm, Denmark, wisent, reintroduction, introduction, large herbivores