The European bison, also known
as wisent or the European wood bison, is a
Eurasian species of bison. It is the heaviest surviving wild
land animal in Europe; a typical European bison is about 7
to 10 ft long, not counting a tail of 12 to 24 in long, and
5 to 7 ft tall. Weight typically can range from 660 to 2,000
lb, with an occasional big bull to 2,200 lb or more. It
averages slightly lighter in weight than the American Bison,
and has shorter hair on the neck, head and forequarters, but
longer tail and horns.
European bison were hunted almost to extinction in the wild, but they survived in Białowieża Forest, straddling the border between Belarus and Poland, until the 1920s and have since been reintroduced from captivity into several countries in Europe, all descendants of the Białowieża or lowland European bison. They are now forest-dwelling. They have few predators (besides humans), with only scattered reports from the 19th century of wolf and bear predation.
