The European bison, wisent or zubr is a forest dwelling ungulate, having been absent from the open plains of Southern Russia, which in many respects resembles the habitat of its North American cousin, the buffalo. This species had been abundant over a large area of Europe, but it is now restricted to the forests of Lithuania, to the Caucasus and portions of the regions known as Moldavia and Wallachia.
Fossil remains are found in the caverns and superficial deposits of England, France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy; the earliest deposits in which they are found are the brick-earths of the Thames valley and mixed in with the remains of the Mammoth, and in the still older “forest-bed” of the English Norfolk coast. The remains indicate a larger size with straighter horns than the contemporary bison.
The wisent disappeared from Britain earlier than the auroch, which is an ancient species of wild ox. Early man probably hunted the animal as it shows up in their cave paintings of 11, 000 years ago such as found in the Grotte du Niaux in the Pyrenees.
There are more collages on animals and environmental issues in the collection. Please contact me for more information on these and prices of the individual pieces.
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