Originally posted by volley Here is a shot I took last week in the Bialowieski National Park in Poland. The largest population of European Bison (bos bonasus) in the wild is living there.
An exciting meeting, for sure.
Usually they are not very aggressive, but they are fast and strong ... my friend and I were with an experienced guide, so we felt somewhat safe.
In the 1920's the European Bison was nearly extinct. The last free animal was shot 1927 and only 12 animals existed in Zoos and game parks.
Today several thousand are living in several European countries again (but all originating from these 12 animals - the limited genetic diversity is an issues).
I rode on my motorbike to Poland and the longest lens I had with me was the A* 2.8/200. For this shot I used it on the K1 with a 1.5 TC. The picture is cropped to about 2/3 of the original frame.
Excellent photograph of the European Bison. Like the lighting, composition.
I live in Western Canada on the prairies and prior to European settlement this area was within the territory of the Bison or as we call them, the Buffalo. In my travels throughout this area, I've been at buffalo jumps...cliff areas where buffalo were driven over, to harvest for food, clothing...many essentials of life...by indigenous peoples.
We still have ranches that have Buffalo herds, which are managed for meat production, etc. on the prairies. Ranchers find Bison can handle the hard Canadian prairie climate much better than cattle. Bison can forage for their food in blizzards, through the deep snow, calf much easier, seldom needing human assistance for successful calving, can protect themselves well from large animal predators, etc.
I've eaten bison, it is quite good.
My wife and I travel through the prairies...about 3 times a year and every so often see some ranch buffalo in the Cypress Hills, along of course with pronghorn antelope, coyotes, etc.