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Posted on 10.12.2019, 28.12.2019
Bison is a type of massive herbivorous animal from the ruminant category, belonging to the Bovinae subfamily, which was once widespread as a wild animal in the northern hemisphere. The only living representatives of the bison are its two varieties, the American bison (Bison bison) and the European bison - the wisent (Bison bonasus). European bison were hunted to extinction in the wild in the early 20th century, with the last wild animals of the Carpathian wisent subspecies being shot in the Białowieża Forest (on the Belarus-Poland border) in 1921, and the last of Caucasian wisent in the northwestern Caucasus in 1927. |
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In Romania, the wisent disappeared in the 18th century; with the last exemplar in the wild being killed in Transylvania in 1790. The species that can be found in Europe at present is a hybrid between the Caucasian Bison and the Lowland Bison. A Caucasian Bison was captured in 1908 and taken to Germany, where he lived 18 years in captivity. There, he bred with females of the Lowland species and produced the species known today as the European Bison. The wisent have been successfully reintroduced in the wild since 1951, and now is found in Poland, Belarus, Romania and Moldova, herds also existing in Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
In 1958 two wisent, called Podarec and Polonka, were brought to Romania from Poland and was founded the Bison Reserve Silvuţ-Haţeg, located only 4 kilometers from the city of Haţeg. Another one called Pumila was brought over, a year later, also from Poland. Today the reserve is home to 6 bison, according to internet sources, although the number reached 23 at one point. The reserve is a 50 acre forest that contains hornbeams, oak and fir trees. Over the years, a total of 47 calves were born there, but some of them were sent to other parts of the country where reserves were founded. At present there are only around 3.000 bison left in the entire world.
About the stamps
The stamps are part of the series Cats, about which I wrote here.
References
The Bison Reserve in Haţeg - Imperial Transilvania
Sender 3288, 3313: Dănuț Ivănescu
3288: Sent from Hațeg (Hunedoara / Romania), on 26.07.2019
3313: Sent from Hațeg (Hunedoara / Romania), on 26.07.2019
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