European Bison
Port Lympne and Howletts house 14 European bison born in captivity. In the wild, in 1927 European bison were extinct and the only remaining individuals were in captivity around the world. Through our conservation efforts we have released 12 Bison back to the wild into Romania and Spain.
Your Sponsorship Really Helps
By sponsoring an Aspinall animal, you are helping to support our amazing overseas work and back to the wild campaigns.
What's included in your Sponsorship?
Digital pack £25
Digital pack including photocard and fact sheet about your chosen animal written by the expert team at The Aspinall Foundation.
Certificate of Sponsorship
The sponsor pack will be delivered straight to your inbox
Printed pack £35
18cm cuddly toy
Sponsor folder including photocard and fact sheet about your chosen animal written by the expert team at The Aspinall Foundation.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Please allow up to 14 days for delivery
Please note: Automatic name generation is currently unavailable for Digital sponsorships certificates. These will be left blank for the purchaser or recipient to enter. For Printed Sponsorships please provide the recipients name and it will be manually entered when you order is processed.
Fun Facts about the European bison
The European bison, or wisent, is the largest herbivore in Europe and was historically distributed through Western, Central and South Eastern Europe. European bison are browsers eating fresh shoots, leaves, herbs, ferns and shrubs. Their habitat is deciduous and mixed forests, with some meadow grassland.
In 2014 The Aspinall Foundation, in co-operation with the Highland Wildlife Park and Fota Zoo, sent 6 females to the Vanatori Neamt National Park in Romania as a further extension of this re-introduction programme. In spring 2016 The Aspinall Foundation released 5 more bison into the Valdeserrillas nature reserve in Spain. In December 2020 The Aspinall Foundation sent another male bison to the Făgăraș Mountains in Romania as part of the ongoing European Bison Reintroduction Project in the region of the Carpathian Mountains.
The survival of the European bison is a great conservation success proving animals can be saved from the brink of extinction using captive breeding programmes and immense effort and planning.
What do European bison eat?
European bison eat fresh shoots, leaves, herbs, ferns and shrubs.
Will the European bison ever go back to the wild?
Whenever possible we release bison back to the wild. In total since 2014, The Aspinall Foundation has released in the wild 12 European bison's.
Where do wild European bison live?
The largest herds of wild European bison are based in Poland and Belarus, the majority of which can be found in the Białowieża Forest, which includes the largest population of free-living European bison in the world. Recently, thanks to European support, we are part of a project for the reintroduction of European wild bison in Romania in the Carpathian Mountains
How we're helping
European bison were extinct in the wild after the last bison was shot in 1927. Thanks to our breeding programme, we are active in the conservation of this species and we help with the reintroduction of bison in the wild.
