ORDER ARTIODACTYLA: EVEN-TOED UNGULATES 533 



Enemies. The chief enemy was the Wolf. While a compact herd 

 was safe enough, an isolated Wisent would succumb to the combined 

 attack of a pack of Wolves. In a combat with a Bear the Wisent 

 was often enough victor. (Floericke, 1930, p. 32.) 



STATUS OF THE LITHUANIAN BISON FROM 1800 TO 1936 



In Rumania. Floericke (1930, p. 10) reports its survival in the 

 mountains of Transylvania at the end of the eighteenth century. 

 A hunting horn used by a Rumanian family, and dated 1808, is 

 offered as evidence of the existence of this species in Bukowina at 

 the beginning of the nineteenth century (Botezat, 1932) . 



In Russia. Floericke (1930, p. 10) quotes Dolmatoff as having 

 seen the skins and horns of seven Bison killed in the Semenov dis- 

 trict (central Russia) between 1840 and 1848. 



In Lithuania. According to Trouessart (1910, p. 243), the Bison 

 was then found only in Lithuania (forest of Bielowitza in the Gov- 

 ernment of Grodno) , where it was protected by the Russian Govern- 

 ment, and in some large private parks. 



"The herd [at Bielowitza] has been subject to many vicissitudes, 

 having suffered more or less severely during the various Polish 

 revolts. ... It attained its maximum in point of numbers between 

 the years 1851 and 1860. ... In 1857 ... the total was 1898. 

 In 1892 the number had become reduced to 375. At that time there 

 was . . . living ... a herd of 101 head in the neighboring forest 

 of Swisslotch." (Lydekker, 1912, pp. 210-211.) 



The Bielowitza herd was maintained for many years, up to the 

 time of the World War, as the private property of the imperial 

 family of Russia. Meanwhile a comparatively small number were 

 allowed to be shot by sportsmen, and little harm seems to have 

 been done by poaching except in war times. A certain number were 

 captured alive and presented to zoological gardens. 



In former years "bears and wolves" were "their deadly enemies, 

 while it is probable that many calves are killed by lynxes." War 

 was waged upon these four-footed enemies, and before the end of 

 the last century their depredations were no longer of importance. 

 "The herd has suffered much from diseases," including liver fluke. 

 "The gradual waning of the Lithuanian bison" is attributed by 

 Buchner (1896) "to continuous in-and-in breeding, the slowness of 

 breeding of the cows, and the large percentage of bulls to the latter." 

 (Lydekker, 1898c, pp. 73-77.) 



Overstocking of the Bialowies Forest with Red Deer (Cervus 

 elaphus) resulted in a scarcity of food for the Wisents, and feeding 

 was necessary from November through March (Stechow, 1929). 

 This overstocking, together with artificial feeding, and a plague of 



