Return to the wilderness
Release of bison into the wild - also from Chemnitz Zoo
Over the past few months, bison from the zoos in Rostock, Bernburg, Berlin, Fota (Ireland), Cologne and Pilsen (Czech Republic) have moved to Tierpark Berlin alongside two two-year-old bison cows from Chemnitz Zoo as part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) conservation breeding programme. After the ten bison cows had spent a few months getting used to each other in Berlin, they were transported on a cargo plane from Frankfurt/Hahn to Baku in Azerbaijan. The animals were accompanied by experts from the WWF and Tierpark Berlin.
Their destination was the 130,508-hectare Shahdag National Park in the Greater Caucasus, where the animals arrived safely in an acclimatisation enclosure on the morning of 23 November. Here they will later meet a total of 31 other animals that have already found their way back to Azerbaijan over the past four years, including some calves that were born in the national park and a bison cow that was born in Chemnitz Zoo in 2016 and released into the wild in 2021.
Bison are impressive and popular inhabitants of wildlife parks and zoos. They have been kept and bred at Chemnitz Zoo since the 1980s. Some of the animals born here are now living in the wild again.
Reintroduction projects are important tasks for zoos, and their realisation once again demonstrates the importance of cooperation between national, European and international institutions.
Bison used to be found in large parts of Europe. However, shrinking habitats and hunting led to a decline in the bison population as early as the 11th century. In 1927, the last bison was shot in the Caucasus. This meant that the majestic wild cattle were extinct in their natural habitat. It was only thanks to a small number of animals in the care of zoological institutions that this species was saved from extinction.
Today, bison are once again roaming the forests of Europe. The history of the bison is considered one of the most hopeful in modern species conservation, but measures are still needed to secure the bison's long-term future.
(Source: Press release from Tierpark Berlin)
www.tierpark-chemnitz.de
Opening hours in winter:
Zoo: 9 am to 4 pm, last admission 3 pm
Game enclosure: 8 am to 4 pm, last admission 3 pm