The unexpected arrival at a pioneering rewilding project in Kent is as significant as she is adorable. Back in July, three female bison made history after being reintroduced to a reserve in Kent, UK, as the first wild roaming bison in Britain for thousands of years. Now, the pioneering rewilding project is making history again with the arrival a bouncing little baby bison that has surprised rangers. It is the first wild bison born in the UK in millennia.
On September 9, bison rangers spotted the herd after not seeing them for a couple of days, and were to discover that their numbers grew from three to four. It was unknown to them that the younger adult female had been pregnant as European bison (Bison bonasus) conceal their pregnancies to protect themselves from predators. "The calf has come on leaps and bounds – literally," said Tom Gibbs, one of the rangers who happily report that the young female calf is doing well, enjoying circling the adults and copying them in their famous dust bath rolling habit.
A collaboration between the Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust to transform West Blean and Thornden Woods to combat the climate and biodiversity crises, the project had hoped the new herd would breed in due course, but the new baby is actually a bonus. A bull from Germany is expected to join the herd soon and breed with the females next year, but this early addition definitely came as a surprise. "When the bison took their first steps into the wild just weeks ago, it was hard to imagine that anything could come close to the elation we felt in that moment. But here we are celebrating the arrival of a bison calf… We are delighted that mother and calf are both doing well and look forward to watching the herd continue to grow and flourish in the coming months," said Mark Habben, Director of Zoo Operations at the Wildwood Trust.
Gibbs and fellow ranger Donovan Wright had suspected something was brewing in the days before the birth. "She had definitely been increasing the amount that she was eating," said Gibbs. "She's normally pretty picky, but it turns out she was eating for two." The calf had been conceived in Ireland, where his mother and another young female came from (the herd's matriarch is from a wildlife park in Scotland). The bull's arrival has been delayed by Brexit-related complications, and so was the announcement of the calf's birth due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8. "We also wanted to make sure that the calf was healthy," Gibbs said.
The other bison welcomed the new arrival, cleaning her and screening her off in case of any potential threat. They also happily babysit for the mother when she is resting, Gibbs added. The calf is thought to have been born on 9 September, but the announcement has been delayed. The bull from Germany is to be introduced gradually, but the wildlife workers do not expect problems. "The matriarch rules the roost – she's top of the hierarchy at all times and he'll conform to what she dictates. His interest will be in the older females, not the calf."
The project site is licensed for up to 10 bison and is hoped to provide bison for other sites to be founded around the UK, as well as for exchanging animals across Europe. The population of European bison today is 9,000, who all descended from just 12 zoo animals that saved the species from extinction in the early 20th century. Therefore, maximizing genetic diversity among them is of utmost importance. In the West Blean and Thornden Woods of Kent, the bison are already rewilding the ecology of the area, increasing its biodiversity. By breaking down the vegetation and creating more well-lit areas, they act as ecosystem engineers, allowing other species including birds, insects and reptiles to thrive.
