European bison reintroduced to England

Under a rising sun in south-east England on Monday, July 18, three bison leave a pen for a wood, their new home as part of an ambitious reintroduction project.

The trio immediately began chewing tree leaves in this forest near the town of Canterbury.

This is the first time in millennia that the European bison, the largest terrestrial mammal and closest cousin to the steppe bison that once roamed Britain, will once again live in freedom. This was a “really important” event, says Mark Habben of the Wildwood Trust, who spearheaded the project.

“It couldn’t have gone better, they turned around, looked at us and disappeared into the forest,” he describes moments after the reintroduction. The female bison, a matriarch, accompanied by two younger females, will now graze, eat bark, cut down trees, and enjoy dust baths, turning over the woods.