The 17 European bison brought back to the Tarcu Mountains in May by Rewilding Europe together with WWF Romania are now roaming in a 160 ha area, ten times larger than the quarantine area (±15 ha) in which they spent their first four months after arrival.
The 17 bison have adapted very well to their new home in the Armenis area and on Friday, September 12, they took another big step towards life in the wild! See this great day in photos in the blog post of our local colleague Alexandru Bulacu.
In this larger enclosure the animals have the opportunity to ‘re-wild’ more and to learn the necessary survival skills for life in wild nature, and also to form a solid social herd structure.
Both enclosures are built in order to better control the reintroduction process, because it takes some time for the animals to get used to the new terrain, climate and food, all which is being scientifically monitored. The animals will finally not be fed, once they are out in the wild on their own.
In a couple of months, when we expect the bison to feel fully adapted to the local conditions in the Tarcu Mountains, they will be released into the wild and become the first free roaming bison there since the 18th century. The ultimate goal of the Tarcu Mountains bison initiative is to help build a herd of at least 500 bison living in wild freedom by 2025 in the Southern Carpathians. In an area spanning some 1.4 million hectares of wild mountains and valleys in the southern part of the Carpathian mountain chain.
Already from the very beginning, even just a few days after their arrival, these bison have served as an important regional tourism attraction. Rewilding Europe is now working closely with WWF-Romania and the local community to help develop business opportunities based on these and the other values of the wild, like wildlife watching tourism.
Are you interested to visit the Southern Carpathians and see the bison? Check out how you can book a trip: https://rewildingeurope.com/safaris/rewilding-bison-in-the-tarcu-mountains-reserve/