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First European bison born in Swiss Jura mountains in 1,000 years

Bison
The aim of the project is to investigate whether bison are sustainable in the wild in the Jura © Keystone / Anthony Anex

A wisent, or European bison, has been born in the Jura mountains of Solothurn for the first time in a millennium.

The mother of the female calf, born on Tuesday, is the youngest of the three bison cows living in the Sollmatt enclosure, the Wisent Thal association said in a statementExternal link on Thursday.

Since November 2022, bison have been living in a 50-hectare enclosure, free to enter for the public, in the Jura mountains of Solothurn, northwestern Switzerland. The aim of the project is to use a test herd to investigate whether bison, which became extinct in Western Europe the Middle Ages, are now sustainable in the wild in the Jura. The trial will last five years.

+Read more on the Swiss trial to re-introduce bison 

The test herd now includes a four-year-old bull, three cows between the ages of four and six, a calf from last year that was not born in the Sollmatt enclosure, and the latest addition.

Bison are basically very shy and gentle animals, the association said. “However, if they are irritated or hindered in protecting their young, they can become dangerous like other cattle. It is therefore important to keep a distance of more than 50 metres from the bison and especially from the calf.”

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