EUROPE
EUROPEAN BISON
European bison, though smaller than the American bison, are the largest living land mammal in Europe. They became extinct in the wild in 1927, hunted for their skins and as food.
THE ROMANIAN CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS
2012
A programme to reintroduce bison to the Vanatori Neamt Nature Park in Romania started in 2003 with animals from breeding centres in Switzerland, Germany and Sweden. Five European bison 2 females and 3 males, were the first to be released in the Park in the eastern part of the Romanian Carpathian Mountains on 22 March 2012.
VANATORI NEAMT NATURE PARK
2014
The Aspinall Foundation was delighted to contribute to this rewilding project and on 23 April 2014 six female captive-bred bison, from Port Lympne and Howletts Wild Animal Parks (Kent), Highland Wildlife Park (Inverness-shire) and Fota Wildlife Park (Cork) were transported to the Vanatori Neamt Nature Park in Romania.
The translocation of the bison has been made possible by a partnership between The Aspinall Foundation, the Vanatori Neamt Nature Park Administration, the European Bison breeding programme (EEP) and the European Wilderness Society. The project is a fundamental step towards increasing the population of a species that was once on the brink of extinction.
In another rewilding project on 27 April 2016, five captive-bred bison from Port Lympne and Howletts were transported to the 3,700 acre Valdeserrillas Nature Reserve in the mountains, North West of Valencia, which has recently been declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Iberian Wolves
TO PORTUGAL
Grupo Lobo
WOLF CONSERVATION
Declining population
THE IBERIAN PENINSULA
Iberian Wolves
2013
The five female wolves travelled from Port Lympne Reserve to their new home just two hours north of the capital city of Lisbon, in a conservation project known as Grupo Lobo.
Grupo Lobo
PORTUGAL
They have a comprehensive approach to Iberian wolf conservation through different activities including broad scale education, engaging with communities, ecological research, caring for rescued and displaced wolves and captive breeding programmes to ensure the survival of the species.
Declining population
LETS'S SAVE THEM
Once widespread in this region their numbers have dramatically declined due to habitat loss and conflict with an expanding human population. Today it is thought that less than 2000 remain in the wild in small fragmented pockets between the northwest of Spain and the north of Portugal.