THE BISON 



(Bos [Bison] bonasus) 



ALTHOUGH the name bison indisputably belongs to the single species of 

 wild cattle now surviving in Europe, it came to be applied almost exclusively 

 to its American cousin, while the bison itself, till comparatively few years 

 ago, was generally known in this country as the aurochs. The aurochs was, however, 

 the ancient wild ox of Europe, the ancestor of many of our domesticated cattle ; and 

 on its extermination, which took place in Poland during the seventeenth century, its 

 name became transferred to the bison, or zubr as it is called in Russia and Poland. 

 Of late years, however, matters have been put right in this respect, and the bison 

 has once more come into its own. 



The European bison, although lacking the enormous mass of long hair on 

 the head and fore-quarters which gives to the bulls of its American cousin such 

 a magnificent appearance, is a far better built animal than the latter, as the hind- 

 quarters do not fall away in the same manner. The bulls are considerably larger 

 than the cows, and it is in that sex alone that the beard and throat-fringe, as well as 

 the long hair on the fore-quarters, attain their full development. In summer a 

 short and sleek coat is donned ; the old winter coat falling off in spring in large, 

 blanket-like masses. 



The bison, apart from a certain number which have been introduced into 

 private parks, now survives only in the forest of Bielowitza, in Lithuanian Poland, 

 now the Russian province of Grodno, and in the Caucasus. In Bielowitza the bison 

 exist in a partially protected condition, and are regularly fed during winter ; their 

 number diminished from nearly two thousand in 1857 to three hundred and seventy- 

 five in 1892, and a few years previously had been just over a hundred less. At the 

 present time the herd, which forms an imperial preserve, appears to be suffering 

 from the effects of inbreeding, so that an abnormally large number of the calves 

 are males. 



On the other hand, the bison of the Caucasus, which has been separated as 

 a distinct race under the name Bos bonasus caucasicus, exists in a purely wild 

 state, although very little information with regard to its numbers, distribution, and 

 habits is available. In former times bison, as we know from historical evidence, 

 as well as from rude although often spirited sketches, believed to be the work of 

 prehistoric man, on the walls of caverns, as well as from their actual fossil remains, 

 were distributed over the greater part of Europe, including Spain. 



Here it should be mentioned that the European and the American species 

 are the only living kinds of wild cattle properly entitled to be included under the 



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