Introduction of European Bison into the Blean woods

Sacha and the Conservation Without Borders team talk about the “Wilder Blean” project at Wildwood Trust which aims to restore the ecosystem of the area’s renowned ancient woodlands and introduction of European Bison into the Blean woods near Canterbury.
----
Make sure to follow us across our social media channels to stay up to date with Sacha Dench & the #RoundBritainClimateChallenge
Twitter: www.conservation-without-bord...
Instagram: www.conservation-without-bord...
LinkedIn: www.conservation-without-bord...
Facebook: www.conservation-without-bord...
With thanks to our Sponsors and Supporters:
EDF (headline), Mastercard (major), Britishvolt (associate), Vauxhall Ltd, Ridge & Partners LLP, Rix & Kay, Brit Insurance, The Eden Project, Celtic Renewables, Don't Cry Wolf, Garland Partners Ltd (Live U), Finisterre, Outdoor Revolution, Autonomous IOT, Zero Waste Scotland, Kreston Reeve Accountants, Johnstons of Elgin, Treharne Automotive Engineering, EcoSecurities, Scarlet Hotel, SkyDemon, Eco Attractions, Martin Valenti, Zero-Six-Zero, Dudek, Parajet, The Climate Coalition, Race To Zero, Count Us in, The Green Alliance, Re-wilding Britain, the Scouts, the Scientific Exploration Society, The Nature Friendly Farming Network, Plug In Adventures, Helix, Johnston Carmichael, UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species

[@recruitmentch]

Blean woods and thornden is all of an hour from where I live. I can't wait to visit. I always really wanted to visit the usa to see bison in the wild.

[@Vivahfilmsuk]

Love it

[@shirleybright731]

It looks fascinating and I would love to "come down" as suggested. However there is no information as to how to access Blean Woods, where to park, or what sort of walking conditions exist. Also, it is a shame the web site has not been updated. Yes there is a video of some bison being released, but no commentary on the age, sex or history of them. I understand that there may be some guided "safari ", but how do I join one of these and when?

[@alienlife7754]

We almost wiped out the American Bison. Thanks to sane people like Teddy Roosevelt they were saved. Their numbers are actually growing now.

[@Gurci28]

Wild bison return to UK for first time in thousands of years The Wilder Blean project, near Canterbury, is an experiment to see how well the bison can act as natural “ecosystem engineers” and restore wildlife. European bison are the continent’s largest land animal - bulls can weigh a tonne - and were extinct in the wild a century ago, but are recovering through reintroduction projects across Europe. Damian Carrington and Nicola Davis - Mon 18 Jul 2022 Source: The Guardian 2:22

[@md9093]

it hasnt been thousands of years, its been less than a hundred lol.

[@josemartinezgonzalez2450]

Excelente proyecto 🤝

[@iamjimb]

I'm really excited for this, but without predators will their population not get too large? Isn't that a problem with deer? Also what even kills a bison? Bears? Wolves?

[@kaikalter]

That’s the point, their population only increases slowly so if this area’s population gets to large they ca use the bisons to be introduced elsewhere.

[@iamjimb]

@@kaikalter what kinda like diluting them almost? Spreading them out?

[@rogersmith8339]

A .270 Winchester is supposed to do the job OK, but I would want something a good bit bigger myself.

[@slipstreamxr3763]

Probably wolves.

[@gutemorcheln6134]

The problem is not deer population, which is small in most cases, but forestry. Modern forestry dictates small population sizes of herbivores in order to function. Natural ecosystems can sustain deer populations manifold those commonly labelled as "excessive" without trouble. They simply create grasslands.

[@johnkeviljr9625]

How long ago, in UK, did the European Bison "die out" ???

[@Radagast-]

Anywhere between 6-12,000 years ago.

[@johnkeviljr9625]

@@Radagast- Thank You. Reintroduction is awesome. Best of luck.

[@alberpajares4792]

With horns all goes better..,

[@jonathanroberts727]

Not the same Bisons that lived here.

[@ironkong26]

so what will hunt the bison??

[@ianvonmemerty6502]

What is this terrible arb music? Bad bar music that has NOTHING to do with the subject.

[@andyford8355]

The silly music adds only noise pollution to this video.

[@gerry343]

Who thought it was a good idea to add that to the soundtrack? It obscures just what the ranger is saying.

[@Jameswrigley09]

Holly dey bih

[@yasutakaimai157]

European bison is definitely NOT the closest surviving species to Steppe bison. European bison is either a descendant or a sister species of Bison schoetensacki, and American Wood bison is genetically and morphologically closer to Steppe bison.

[@rogersmith8339]

I am not sure I would fancy gralloching out one of them on my own and as for loading the carcass into the back of my wagon, I think I would need a pretty big crane. I would also need to find some one with a big chiller to hang it in and a big freezer for the meat.

[@camdig4385]

Definitely need to be field butchered and back packed out like American moose and Bison are, I bet they taste phenomenal. The guy in this video has really got a zoo and no doubt he charges the public for a wee look too

[@Bart-Did-it]

They look tasty ….🦬 🍔’s 🤤