European bison Bison bonasus belongs to the Family Bovidae Gray. Sometimes it is treated as a synonym of Bos Linnaeus.
Three subspecies are recognized:
B. b bonasus
B. b. hungarorum
B. b. caucasicus
The European bison is Europe’s largest extant mammal. The strong and compact outline gives the impression of the animal being thick-set, but there is a sense of majesty emanating from the beast as well as of the force of primeval nature.
The powerful body is covered in a reddish-brown coat that blends remarkably well with animal’s surroundings.
The European bison is the biggest, heaviest mammal in Europe, but it can still jump over streams and run fast. It needs woodlands to survive because it eats leaves, trees, bark and berries from tree.
Today the European bison exists in small private herds and preserves scattered across western Russia and eastern Europe.
European bison
