534 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



caterpillars defoliating the forest, culminated in diseases that 

 decimated the game of Bialowies before the World War (Floericke, 

 1930, p. 16). 



"In 1913, just before the war, there remained but 750 [in this 

 herd]. Prior to the German military occupation of Bialowies, the 

 greater part of the above had perished, yet the Germans succeeded 

 in raising the number of wisents to about 120. But the unfavorable 

 end of the war resulted finally in all of those remaining being killed 

 by poachers and disbanded soldiers. 



"Soon after the consolidation of the new Polish State the Forest 

 Administration . . . succeeded in purchasing elsewhere suitable 

 animals, a corral was erected in the Bialowies forest with an area 

 of 240 acres and 5 wisents [were] introduced there. These have 

 increased and at present there are in all 14," among which "only 9 

 are pure blooded stock, 5 cows being hybrids between wisent 

 and bison. 



"The second largest herd of wisents in Poland 9 live in the 

 forests of Prince Pless, Polish Upper Silesia, in practical liberty. 

 These wisents descend from animals [a bull and three cows] 

 turned over to Pless in 1865 from Bialowies (then Russian) . Dur- 

 ing the war the Pless herd had increased to 74, but continuous 

 political troubles and disorders resulted in the death of all but 3. 

 After more peaceful times these wisents had increased to 11, but 

 2 died quite recently. The above 9 wisents are absolutely pure 

 blooded and quite wild. 



"In March, 1935, an exchange of wisents was arranged between 

 Poland and Sweden. . . . Poland gave two Caucasus stock 

 heifers ... to the wisent herd near Stockholm, and received in 

 exchange" a 22-year-old cow and a 5-year-old bull. These two, 

 together with two cows "which have been living in Bialowies 

 since 1929 and 1930, are the only ones of pure Bialowies breed 

 remaining and they will from now on be bred further as Lithu- 

 anian stock." (Theodor G. Ahrens, MS., October, 1935.) 



In Sweden. "There are, aside from seven pure blooded wisents, 

 five first-class grades with bison blood. Some of the animals are 

 in the Stockholm Zoo on Skansen while the others are in a large 

 game-preserve in Vaestmanland." (Mohr, 1933, p. 261.) 



In England. "The largest herd of all is that of the Duke of 

 Bedford in Woburn Abbey consisting of 20 pure blooded animals 

 and 19 cross breeds." The latter "have traces of the blood of the 

 gray domestic cattle of the steppe of Southern Russia." (Mohr, 

 1933, pp. 260-261.) 



In Germany. "In a most beautiful old timber-forest" belong- 

 ing to Count Arnim in Boitzenburg, Uckermark, "13 pure blooded 

 animals are kept, . . . and with the exception of one cow they all 



