After a Century Vanished, the European Bison Returns to the Carpathian Mountains

More than 200 European bison now roam freely in Romania's Southern Carpathians, marking one of Europe's most ambitious wildlife recovery successes. From just 54 captive animals in the 1920s to a continent-wide population exceeding 7,000, the 'gentle giant' has made a remarkable comeback through decades of international conservation efforts.

In the misty forests of Romania's Southern Carpathian Mountains, a prehistoric silhouette has emerged from the edge of extinction. More than 200 European bison—Europe's largest living land mammal and a species that vanished from the wild nearly a century ago—now roam freely across their ancestral homeland, marking one of the continent's most ambitious and successful wildlife recovery efforts.

The comeback of the European bison, also known as the wisent, represents a triumph of international conservation cooperation. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the species has recovered so dramatically that its status was upgraded from "Vulnerable" to "Near Threatened" in December 2020—a milestone that Dr. Bruno Oberle, then IUCN Director General, cited as proof of "the power of conservation." The total European bison population has grown from just 1,800 individuals in 2003 to more than 6,800 across the continent in 2024, with the largest free-roaming herds in Belarus and Poland.

The road to recovery was precarious. By the 1920s, the European bison was extinct in the wild, hunted to oblivion across its historic range. When the last wild animal was shot in the Caucasus in 1927, only 54 individuals remained alive—all in captivity. These survivors were descended from merely 12 founding animals, creating a genetic bottleneck that threatened the species' long-term viability. The Carpathian subspecies (Bison bonasus hungarorum) had already disappeared by 1852.

"From a mere 12 individuals, surviving in zoos and private collections, captive breeding programmes began," conservation researchers documented. The first breakthrough came in 1952, when two captive-bred bison were released into Poland's Białowieża Forest—their first taste of freedom in decades. This successful reintroduction established the template for future recovery efforts across Europe.

Romania's Carpathian reintroduction program began in 2014, when Rewilding Europe partnered with WWF Romania to return bison to the Țarcu Mountains—an area where no wild bison had roamed for at least 250 years. Between 2014 and 2023, conservationists translocated 99 European bison to the Southern Carpathians, creating the foundation for what has become a self-sustaining wild population.

The momentum accelerated dramatically in 2024. In June of that year, 14 additional bison arrived from Germany and Sweden, boosting genetic diversity in the growing Romanian herds. By late 2024, the free-roaming population in the Southern Carpathians surpassed 200 animals—hitting what conservationists call a "historic milestone." More than 20 bison calves were born in the region during 2022-2023, signaling that the animals have not only survived but are thriving and reproducing in their restored habitat.

The success has been driven by the EU-funded "LIFE with Bison" project, a collaborative initiative involving Rewilding Europe, Rewilding Romania, WWF Romania, WeWilder, the Research and Development Institute for Wildlife and Mountain Resources, and the municipalities of Armeniș, Teregova, and Cornereva. The project has secured €5.24 million in funding through 2028, with the European Commission's LIFE Programme contributing 75 percent.

"The bison are essential not only for the ecosystem, but also for the socio-economic development of the region," said Marina Drugă, Team Leader of Rewilding Romania and Technical Manager of the "LIFE with Bison" Project. The initiative aims to relocate at least 40 more bison to strengthen genetic diversity and establish "bison-smart communities" that can coexist with Europe's largest free-roaming land mammals.

Beyond Romania, the European bison has returned to multiple countries including Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Slovakia, Germany, and France. The species now plays a vital ecological role as a keystone herbivore, shaping vegetation patterns and creating habitat for countless other species. As a so-called "gastronomic giant," the bison's feeding habits impact entire ecosystems, making its recovery critical for broader biodiversity goals.

Why it matters

The European bison's recovery from the brink of extinction demonstrates that coordinated conservation action can reverse even the most dire wildlife declines. This success story offers hope for other endangered species while creating new economic opportunities through nature-based tourism and demonstrating the value of international cooperation in protecting our shared natural heritage.

Background

The European bison, or wisent (Bison bonasus), is Europe's heaviest land animal, with males weighing up to 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds). Unlike its American cousin, the European bison is a forest-dwelling species that once ranged across the continent from Spain to the Caucasus. The species' genetic diversity remains a concern due to its extreme population bottleneck, which is why ongoing translocations and careful breeding management remain essential to its long-term survival.

What's next

With the Southern Carpathians population now exceeding 200 free-roaming bison, conservation efforts are entering a new phase focused on coexistence and ecological impact. The "LIFE with Bison" project aims to develop a National Action Plan for bison conservation in Romania, while expanding the population further. Scientists are also monitoring genetic diversity closely and working to establish additional free-ranging herds across suitable habitat in Eastern Europe. The ultimate goal is a self-sustaining, genetically diverse wild population that no longer requires human intervention to survive.