Belarusian bison, brought to Bashkortostan in winter, grew long fur in a week
They have fully adapted to Bashkir winters. This was stated by Vasily Martynenko, head of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Biological Sciences, writes mk.ru.
Recently, Bashkortostan decided to restore the population of bison that once lived in the region.
The first animals, brought from Belovezhskaya Pushcha, appeared here in 2023. Some of the imported females were already pregnant, and later the bison produced offspring in Bashkortostan.
— All calves that appeared after the first import survived, — Vasily Martynenko reported. — And in 2024, bison calves were born directly here, on Bashkir land. This is how our population is gradually forming.
Recently, six more bison were brought to the republic. Their acquisition and transfer to the region were supported by environmentally responsible companies. One of the females also turned out to be pregnant.
— One of the females gave birth to a calf already in the enclosure, — explains the expert. — A good little calf, I saw it recently. It is planned that closer to autumn the animals will be released into the wild so that they have time to grow strong before winter. And we hope that they will continue to reproduce just like the bison that already live in natural conditions.
Unlike Bashkir horses, bison cannot dig for food from under deep snow with their hooves.
— A bison clears snow with its snout, — explains Mr. Martynenko. — A snow depth of about 40 centimeters is considered critical for it. Experts understood that this could be a problem, but decided to try.
However, the animals quickly showed that they were able to find suitable places for wintering on their own.
Bison tolerate the Bashkir climate better than specialists expected. One of the first imports of animals was particularly indicative.
— In 2023, the bison were brought in December. In the gorge, it was about minus 35 degrees then, and in Belarus, where they came from, the temperature was much higher — minus 10 degrees. Frankly, I was worried and was already studying possible diseases, thinking how they would endure it, — recalls Mr. Martynenko.
Due to a delay in delivery, the animals arrived in the republic during a short-term warming, but after a week, it sharply turned cold again.
— During that week, their fur grew so much that I was stunned, — the biologist comments. — Then the temperature dropped to almost minus 40 degrees, and our bison endured it absolutely calmly. How sensitive they are to climate change and how quickly they adapt — it's truly amazing.
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