site.btaRewilding Rhodopes Foundation Release Nine Bison in Eastern Rhodope Mountains
A herd of seven female and two male bison were released into the wild in the Eastern Rhodope mountains on Friday, said Andriana Trifonova, head of the Rewilding Rhodopes Foundation team.
“The animals have adapted well to the local environment in the area of the Zhenda State Game Farm, and our impressions are that they feel good,” she noted. Some of them are equipped with a GPS transmitter, which shows their location and provides experts with information about how the herd is developing and how it moves around the territory.
Trifonova stated that the organization has been working for more than 10 years to restore species in the Rhodope mountains, and that the first bison herd was released in the Studen Kladenets area, where the herd is developing and already numbers 22 individuals, including three calves born this year. The newly released bison were transported from Slovakia, are of different ages, but the expectations are that, after they adapt to the habitat, the first calves will be born in a year or two.
"We will, of course, add animals in the coming years, because it is important for us to diversify the genes of the animals. Then they become more resistant to the environment and future generations are in a better health condition," Trifonova explained, adding that the bison is an emblematic species of European nature, which was on the verge of extinction but has been reintroduced in many areas across Europe through human efforts.
/RY/
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