Wild bison began to settle in the North Caucasus for the first time
29.01.2023
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The next month, six captured individuals will be held in a quarantine enclosure on the territory of the Turmonsky Reserve.
The first settlement of wild bison took place in the Caucasus, six individuals were captured in Karachay-Cherkessia and released in the Turmon Reserve of North Ossetia. In the near future, a new herd in the reserve will be replenished thanks to another import of animals, the press service of the World Wildlife Fund told TASS.
"The capture of wild bison in nature was carried out in the North Caucasus for the first time. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Previously, animals were imported to the North Caucasus from nurseries in which trapping has been established for decades. In nurseries, bison are fed daily, they see more often and trust a person more. For us and the employees of the Teberdinsky National Park, this is the first, very valuable and successful experience that we will use in the future. Given the complexity of this process, we will share professional skills with colleagues," said Roman Mnatsekanov, senior project coordinator of the WWF representative office in the Russian Caucasus ecoregion, whose words are quoted in the message.
In addition, another replenishment of the Turmon group is planned in the near future. But this time the catch will be carried out from the herd, which lives in the Tseysky Reserve and the North Ossetian Reserve. The Turmon Reserve is home to the youngest of the three groups of bison in the Russian Caucasus. The World Wildlife Fund, with the support of the Ministry of Natural Resources of North Ossetia, engaged in its formation in 2015, having built a quarantine aviary. In 2018 and 2020, the foundation transported 18 purebred animals from the nursery of the Oka Reserve.
"The next month, six bison will be held in a quarantine enclosure on the territory of the Turmon Reserve in accordance with the requirements of veterinary legislation. The fenced area is 5 hectares. Throughout the month, the bison will receive hay, compound feed and rock salt in feeders, which the animals need to obtain minerals. However, the most important thing is that the aviary is full of fresh blackberries under the snow, which is the main delicacy for bison and which was not so easy to find in Arkhyz. After passing quarantine, the animals will be released into nature and will probably join their relatives," the foundation said.
Reasons for resettlement The Arkhyz group in the Teberdinsky National Park of Karachay-Cherkessia has reached the optimal number for the territory where it lives.
The snow forces the animals to descend from the mountain meadows down, and the exit from the gorge is blocked by the village of Arkhyz, and then the territories are occupied by people. To keep the bison in the protected area, the staff of the national park constantly feed the bison in winter.
"Such a large animal as a bison and territories need a large size. And there are fields and villages below, and the appearance of bison is not welcome everywhere. Such situations can cause conflicts with the local population. In order to avoid excessive load on the territory and minimize conflicts between bison and humans, it was decided to capture some of the animals and relocate them to the Turmon Reserve, where there are all conditions for a large number of horned giants to live. The Ardon-Urukh interfluve is the optimal place for the group to live. More than 300 bison can live here," the foundation said.
According to the accounting data of 2022, 180 purebred bison live in the Russian Caucasus: 36 - in Arkhyz (Karachay-Cherkessia), 117 - in the Tseysky reserve (North Ossetia) and 27 (including newly imported ones) - in the Turmonsky reserve.
The bison is the only species in the world that has been returned to the wild after almost complete extermination due to unrestricted hunting. The last wild Caucasian bison were shot in the Western Caucasus in 1926, and the last representative of the plain line in the wild was killed in 1921 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. All living bison come from only 12 individuals who were in zoos and nature reserves at the beginning of the XX century. Thanks to efforts to preserve bison, in 1952 the first free herds of bison settled in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The largest number of bison in the world is found in Poland (2,269 individuals), Belarus (2,101 individuals), Russia (1,588 individuals) and Germany (564 individuals).
"The capture of wild bison in nature was carried out in the North Caucasus for the first time. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Previously, animals were imported to the North Caucasus from nurseries in which trapping has been established for decades. In nurseries, bison are fed daily, they see more often and trust a person more. For us and the employees of the Teberdinsky National Park, this is the first, very valuable and successful experience that we will use in the future. Given the complexity of this process, we will share professional skills with colleagues," said Roman Mnatsekanov, senior project coordinator of the WWF representative office in the Russian Caucasus ecoregion, whose words are quoted in the message.
In addition, another replenishment of the Turmon group is planned in the near future. But this time the catch will be carried out from the herd, which lives in the Tseysky Reserve and the North Ossetian Reserve. The Turmon Reserve is home to the youngest of the three groups of bison in the Russian Caucasus. The World Wildlife Fund, with the support of the Ministry of Natural Resources of North Ossetia, engaged in its formation in 2015, having built a quarantine aviary. In 2018 and 2020, the foundation transported 18 purebred animals from the nursery of the Oka Reserve.
"The next month, six bison will be held in a quarantine enclosure on the territory of the Turmon Reserve in accordance with the requirements of veterinary legislation. The fenced area is 5 hectares. Throughout the month, the bison will receive hay, compound feed and rock salt in feeders, which the animals need to obtain minerals. However, the most important thing is that the aviary is full of fresh blackberries under the snow, which is the main delicacy for bison and which was not so easy to find in Arkhyz. After passing quarantine, the animals will be released into nature and will probably join their relatives," the foundation said.
Reasons for resettlement The Arkhyz group in the Teberdinsky National Park of Karachay-Cherkessia has reached the optimal number for the territory where it lives.
The snow forces the animals to descend from the mountain meadows down, and the exit from the gorge is blocked by the village of Arkhyz, and then the territories are occupied by people. To keep the bison in the protected area, the staff of the national park constantly feed the bison in winter.
"Such a large animal as a bison and territories need a large size. And there are fields and villages below, and the appearance of bison is not welcome everywhere. Such situations can cause conflicts with the local population. In order to avoid excessive load on the territory and minimize conflicts between bison and humans, it was decided to capture some of the animals and relocate them to the Turmon Reserve, where there are all conditions for a large number of horned giants to live. The Ardon-Urukh interfluve is the optimal place for the group to live. More than 300 bison can live here," the foundation said.
According to the accounting data of 2022, 180 purebred bison live in the Russian Caucasus: 36 - in Arkhyz (Karachay-Cherkessia), 117 - in the Tseysky reserve (North Ossetia) and 27 (including newly imported ones) - in the Turmonsky reserve.
The bison is the only species in the world that has been returned to the wild after almost complete extermination due to unrestricted hunting. The last wild Caucasian bison were shot in the Western Caucasus in 1926, and the last representative of the plain line in the wild was killed in 1921 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. All living bison come from only 12 individuals who were in zoos and nature reserves at the beginning of the XX century. Thanks to efforts to preserve bison, in 1952 the first free herds of bison settled in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The largest number of bison in the world is found in Poland (2,269 individuals), Belarus (2,101 individuals), Russia (1,588 individuals) and Germany (564 individuals).
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