📸 PhotoPhoto: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Wisent
Bos bonasus (Wisent · Wisent)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 An adult weight of 1,000 kg equals 50 bags of 20 kg rice (Comparison).
- 💡 Its body length of 2.9 m is about two-thirds (2/3) the length of a passenger car (about 4.5 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 About 140,000 visitors come to Białowieża Forest in Poland each year to see this bison (Animal Diversity Web).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The wisent is the largest native herbivore in Europe. After wild herds once vanished completely, captive breeding and reintroduction allowed it to spread again across central and eastern Europe.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It resembles the American bison but is smaller, with a longer forehead and a longer neck mane. Its coat ranges from yellowish brown to dark brown, and males have a more pronounced hump.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Grasses, sedges, and herbs make up about 90 percent of its diet. Rather than family units, its herds are mixed groups of females, calves, and males averaging 8–13 individuals, and gestation averages 264 days.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List NT (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/2814/45156279
- • IUCN Red List category NT — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1006257
- • iucnredlist.org — 45156279
- • wikidata.org — Q109646855
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:European bison (Bison bonasus) male Białowieza.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Bison bonasus
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Steven Traver · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.