The powerful sounds of European bison

Описание: Listen to the deep grunts and growls of Bison bonasus, also known as the Wood bison, Buffalo, Wisent (or Zimbru in Romanian).

The European Bison is the heaviest land mammal in Europe. These gigantic grazers have roamed the forests of Europe for hundreds of thousands of years. Their numbers dropped dramatically in the 19th century, becoming extinct in the wild at the beginning of the 20th century. This was caused by overhunting and deforestation across their range.

Several rewilding initiatives have helped them back from the brink. There are small populations of bison scattered across Europe and Asia, although they suffer from inbreeding. Some 20 years ago, several bison were released in a few places in Romania. One of these spots was Vanatori-Neamt Natural Park which is just a few miles from where I grew up. It's basically my local patch, a place that I have explored and recorded more than in any other part of the world.

The bison has had enormous cultural significance for people in this part of Europe. It's depressing to hear that they were so close to complete extinction given their importance. There are very old cave paintings depicting them. They appear on state flags, insignia and coins. They re the national animal of several counties and other administrative units. Fortunately we can see these large beasts roam the forests once more, and maybe this time we will take better care of them and their habitats.

On each of my trips to Romania I spend a few days exploring the forests where bison roam with the hope of seeing and hearing them,. I've had the privilege of seeing them several times, but I've never heard them make much sound. They tend to be quiet and placid, although they don't like it when humans or vehicles get too close.

On my recent trip there I went to an area that had been off limits because of logging, and I set up a drop rig in a location that seemed pretty wild and untouched. Imagine my surprise a few days later when I found lots of bison dung and obvious signs they had spent the night right by my microphones! Looking at my recordings, I can see they spent more than 12 hours there although they slept for the better part. The weather wasn't ideal, but I still managed to capture a few grunts with a bit of rain and wind in the background.

Was this pure serendipity or absolute skill? This is a topic for another video so stay tuned for that.

Recorded with Sony PCM A10 and Immersive Soundscapes Earsight Nano microphones. Enjoying the videos I upload on here? Please consider supporting me by:
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