A wisent, also known as a European bison, has been born in the Jura mountains of Solothurn, marking the first birth of its kind in the region in 1,000 years. The female calf was born on

Tuesday, and her mother is the youngest of the three bison cows residing in the Sollmatt enclosure, according to the Wisent Thal association.

Since November 2022, bison have been living in a 50-hectare enclosure in the Jura mountains of Solothurn, Switzerland, which is open to the public. The project aims to study the feasibility of reintroducing bison to the wild in the Jura region, where they went extinct during the Middle Ages. The trial will span five years.

The current test herd consists of a four-year-old bull, three cows aged between four and six, a calf from the previous year that was not born in the Sollmatt enclosure, and the newborn calf.

The association highlights that bison are generally shy and gentle animals. However, they can become dangerous if irritated or feel the need to protect their young, similar to other cattle. Therefore, it is important to maintain a distance of over 50 meters from the bison, especially from the calf. Photo by USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Wikimedia commons.