#parculnaturalvanatorineamt

[bisonhillock]

Team effort to ensure the future of wild bison in the Carpathians

Traveling across the country to meet, learn and exchange good practices from the first Natural Park to release bison into the wild in Romania proved to be an exceptional experience for the team of recent graduates.

After a short stop in Brasov to admire the beauty of the city hugged by mountains and celebrate the birthday of our colleague Ariane, the winding roads led us to the Natural Park Vânători Neamţ which is situated in the north of the Neamţ county and spreads across 30.818 hectares, out of which 26.190 hectares are of forest.

The administration of the park, lead by Mr. Sebastian Catanoiu, welcomed the Bison Hillock Team warmly and proceeded to exchange on the state of the conservation project overall and the immense progress noticed both in Vânători Neamţ and Armeniș.

Vânători Neamţ is the only park where bison can be found roaming free (37 bison) in an acclimatisation enclosure (12 bison) and also in captivity as part of the Zoo of the Vânători commune.  

Rangers helped the newcomers discover the 80 hectares of the acclimatisation enclosure and not small was the surprise to come face to face with a male bison just at the beginning of the journey, feeding on leftover hay. We stared at each other for what seemed to be an infinite moment suspended in time after which both parties went on their way through the binding trails of the secular forest.

The next encounter was no less impressive with a male resting and allowing everyone to watch him from less than 10 meters away as he dozed slowly keeping flies at bay with his tail. Ariane captured this impressive photograph above just as the bison was waking up. 

The team gathered information on the state of the herd, 10 bison with two calves from last year, led by an alfa female and a male and also on the two solitary males that roam the enclosure. They also were glad to hear about the bison that are in the wild out of which two males wearing tracking collars, facilitating their monitorisation.

Good news is always welcomed, and the story of a calf born inDecember of 2012 that is now a strong mother to be overjoyed the interns who dreamt probably of being the first someday to witness a bison birth in the wild.

The week ended on a high note with the team accompanying a filming crew which intended to capture the role of the bison in shaping the ecosystem.  The shot-list seemed difficult to accomplish but with the precious knowledge of the Vânători Neamţ rangers and the strategy laid down in a practice round, three teams set out to find the mighty bison.

A large male gave us a great angle of him debarking a fallen cherry tree, but the absolute cherry on top was the herd which allowed us to get very close and personal. Observing them groom, dust-bathe, eat in a glade and in the forest.

Observing two calves suckling, a one year old and a two-year old, left everyone, even the rangers, breathless and amazed.

How fortunate and what an amazing chance for the interns to analyze the behavior inside the herd and create all the links between these majestic creatures and their environment.

We all want to build upon the dream to have bison roaming free across the Carpathians, thus together with the Natural Park Vânători Neamţ we conduct research: comparative studies and integration of data and work in parallel to develop the WildAI project. 

Text: Bianca Ștefanut 

Photos: Bianca Ștefanut 

#bisonhillocklive #magurazimbrilorlive #bison #WildAI #rewildingeurope #rewildingromania #parculnaturalvanatorineamt #researchandconservation #carpathianmountains