Out of over 800 European bison living in the Podkarpackie Region, 9 animals can be observed in the showcase enclosure in Muczne.

“During the inventory, the largest population, consisting of 318 individuals grouped into 14 herds, was observed in the forests of the Baligród Forest District. The largest single herd, consisting of 52 individuals, lives in the vicinity of the former village of Hulskie in the Lutowiska Forest District,” stated Marszałek.

Foresters have been responsible for the care of European bison in the Bieszczady Mountains for over 60 years. As emphasized by the Deputy Director of the RDLP, Marek Marecki, the monitoring of the species and the annual inventory have been entrusted to foresters by the General Directorate for Environmental Protection since 2009.

“The accuracy of this census results from the fact that it is conducted on a single selected day at the beginning of March in all units, including on private land, and is preceded by several days of observing the herds. Health monitoring of the herds is conducted throughout the year,” Marecki emphasized.

In recent years, 13 European bison from the Bieszczady Mountains have been relocated to Bulgaria and Romania, where they have augmented herds living in the local mountains. According to data from the RDLP in Krosno, the number of European bison in the region has been increasing year to year. For example, in 1997, there were 110 individuals, in 2009, there were already 290, and in 2021, there were 719 European bison in the region.