THE EUROPEAN BISON 8 1 



in November, 1868, the Zoological Society of 

 London purchased one which had been born in the 

 Amsterdam collection on July I4th, 1866. 



Regarding more recent specimens, mention may 

 be made of the bison seen by the writer at 

 Amsterdam in 1900 ; at Antwerp in the same year 

 he also photographed an old bull which, received as 

 a mere youngster, had attained the age of twenty- 

 three years in captivity. A few months later a pair 

 of young bison, acquired through M. Henry 

 Vanderlinden, President of the Antwerp Zoological 

 Society, were added to the Gardens. In 1901 a bull 

 and two cows from the Lithuanian herd were received 

 on a private estate in England. Dr. Heck's 

 valuable book of photographs illustrating the 

 collection at Berlin contains a good picture of a pair 

 of young bonasus ; the bull looks a very fine sturdy 

 animal as with mild interest he turns his great head 

 to regard the camera. 



Lastly, on April 15, 1904, the first specimens 

 seen in America reached the New York Zoological 

 Park ; although thin, weak, and bruised on arrival, 

 they steadily improved in condition. They consisted 

 of a pair of animals about five years old, and had 

 been purchased from the private herd of the Prince 

 of Pless in Silesia. This private herd was started 

 about 1855 by a former Prince, who thus introduced 

 the bison to its old haunts. The Prince exchanged 

 some red deer with the Czar for a three-year old 



