“WWhen you see them in the wild, there is a real sense of humility and respect,” said Tom Gibbs, one of the first two bison rangers in the UK. “Their size needs your respect immediately, even though they Very docile. I won’t say they are scary, but you know what they can do. “
When the four animals arrive in northern Kent in the spring of 2022, the rangers will manage the first wild bison roaming the UK in thousands of years.The bison is the largest land animal in Europe — the bull weighs a ton — and went extinct in the wild a century ago, but is recovering Reintroduction projects across Europe.
“They are magnificent animals, really gentle giants,” said colleague Donovan Wright, who has worked with rhinos, buffalo horns and other large animals in Southern Africa for 20 years. “The Kent project is very different, but equally important.”
Wright said: “It’s amazing to track Britain’s largest land mammal on foot here. [Kent]? It’s great to experience this kind of experience only 5 miles from Canterbury, and help people reconnect with nature. “
Gibbs and Wright just returned from training Bison herd in the Netherlands, They were reintroduced in 2007.This Kent project worth 1 million pounds is called Wild Brin Operated by the Kent Wildlife Trust Fund and Wildwood Trust Fund, funded by the People’s Post Lottery Company. One of the main goals is to rewild the dense former commercial pine forests of the bison.
“What makes bison a key species is that they rub and eat the bark of trees,” Wright said. “Those trees are dead, which allows the light to reach the forest floor. And, wow, it’s like jet fuel for biodiversity-all of a sudden, you are creating habitat for other species to thrive.
“In addition, in terms of their large size, they open up amazing paths in the vegetation. They like to bathe in dust and create large open patches. For pioneer plants, insects and sand lizards, this is all Great.” Wright said that insects that live on dead wood are also amazing for woodpeckers and bats.
Ranger visiting Kraansvlak project In the Netherlands, people can walk freely in the area occupied by 14 bison, and there has never been a dangerous incident. But part of the training is to learn animal behavior to ensure safety.
“You understand animals, so if they give you signs that they are not satisfied with your existence, you take a step back,” Gibbs said. These signs include staring, alert ears, head swinging up and down, claws gripping the ground, or herd spreading. “Actually, bison are those who maintain [50 metre safety] Distance, by moving. “
Like Kraansvlak’s bison, Kent’s animals wear GPS collars, but these collars may be damaged, so tracking skills are required to ensure that rangers can find these animals without frightening them. The snags and tufts of fur on the branches are clues, as are the hoof prints on the soft ground.
Rangers also learned how to encourage bison to enter the corral for a quick health check. “There are some techniques in the transaction, such as certain foods,” Gibbs said, but these techniques are kept secret to avoid unnecessary attempts by the public to attract bison. It took five years for Kraansvlak rangers to be convinced that the public could enter the bison area alone, but Wright did not set a timetable for the Kent project. “We are very cautious,” he said.
The Kent cattle herd will be established by a young bull from Germany and an older cow from the Scottish Highland Wildlife Park, who will become the matriarch. “She looks beautiful and we are very confident that she will be an outstanding leader of the team,” Gibbs said. Two young women from Fota Wildlife Park in Cork, Ireland will complete the activities of the group, which will roam and forage freely on 210 hectares (519 acres) of land.
The ranger hopes that the bison can breed-the female produces one calf a year-and the site is licensed for up to 10 animals. In the future, they hope to provide bison to establish other locations in the UK and exchange animals throughout Europe.All 7,000 bison living in Europe are descendants of 12 zoo animals, and the species is still Classified as vulnerable, So it is very important to maximize genetic diversity.
Wilder Blean is currently preparing for the arrival of the bison. “We are building a 1.4-meter-long electric fence to control the bison, and then, around the perimeter, we have a 6-foot-long deer fence to prevent people from entering,” Wright said.
Ponds have also been dug for bison to drink, as well as longhorn cattle, Exmoor ponies and “Iron Age” pigs, which will help restore the landscape. Wright said: “We encountered another interesting problem: how to safely raise a group of bison on the public sidewalk? [that crosses the site]? The answer is a tunnel the size of a bison, so we are currently working on it. “
The United Kingdom is one of the countries with the least natural resources in the world, and the rangers hope that the bison project will become a beacon of broader recovery. “By using nature-based solutions, we can truly reverse the situation and help mitigate the impact of the current climate and biodiversity crisis we face,” Wright said.
“A lot of people are frustrated by the lack of action, but I think this project is a real beacon of what can be done,” Gibbs said. “We can’t wait to wait for the bison to come and let them start doing what they do best.”
