European bison population grows in Azerbaijan 7 years after rewilding

Shahdagh: Seven years after 12 zoo-raised European bison were released in Azerbaijan’s Shahdagh mountains, the herd is thriving. The 2019 reintroduction, led by WWF, UNEP, and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, has since seen 25 calves born in the wild.

Once hunted to extinction in the region, the Caucasian bison line was revived using the last surviving male from a European zoo. The effort mirrors similar projects in Portugal, the UK, and Romania.“We now have a historic opportunity to restore our species,” said Elshad Askerov, head of WWF Azerbaijan. He called the project “a model for other Caucasian countries” and said neighboring nations have shown interest in replicating it.

Bison act as ecosystem engineers: dispersing seeds, controlling undergrowth to reduce fire risk, and creating habitat mosaics that support other species.