A family of bison in Kent has been completed just in time for Christmas now that the father of the herd has finally arrived after months of delays.
A matriarch from Scotland and two young females from Ireland were introduced to the Kent woodland in July as part of the rewilding project and a surprise calf was born in September.
The bull’s tardy introduction takes the tally of European bison to five, a remarkable success considering the species went extinct in the UK thousands of years ago.
Now, the long awaited arrival of the bull completes the herd which now roam freely in an untouched 50 hectare plot of land.
🦬 Joy to the Blean the bull has come; the herd received their king! The #WilderBlean bull made it just in time for Christmas from Germany to #Kent🥳
— Kent Wildlife Trust (@KentWildlife) December 24, 2022
Thank you to partners @WildwoodTrust and players of @peoplespostcod1 for helping to make this happen https://t.co/11cyXSLEY2 pic.twitter.com/jSHUZQUlbQ
Post-Brexit paperwork requirements meant there was a mountain of red tape delaying the arrival of the bull, who is around four-years-old, from Germany. His departure was finally approved this week.
The bull was released into the Blean wilderness in torrential rain on Friday December 23 by the experts responsible for the Wilder Blean project at Wildwood Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust.
Initial hesitancy to leave the warm wagon he travelled in for the damp British landscape eventually subsided after some gentle corralling that saw the male plodding off into the woodland. He will now be able to spend Christmas with his new herd.
The females were only let into the full site in November and spent several months in a smaller holding area to ensure they were healthy and fit enough to go into the wild where they will be harder to monitor.
The bull does not have this period of pseudo-quarantine as there are no TB concerns for animals imported from Germany.
Blean has two full-time bison rangers who will track the so-called “ecosystem engineers” and keep an eye on their progress and health as well as monitoring the impact.
Mark Habben, the director of zoological operations at Wildwood Trust told the Telegraph earlier this year that the hope is for the bull – who has not been given a name – to mate with the younger females in the coming years and swell the size of the herd even more.
“It’s been a really interesting journey subsequent to the UK leaving the EU because the legislation to move animals between the UK and the European Union is rather turbulent. It’s been a challenge,” he added.
“I’m enormously proud of the team and all the work that has gone into getting us to this point, despite the red tape we’ve had to navigate and complications arising from Brexit,” Mr Habben said after the bull joined the four other bison in Kent.
“The arrival of the bull marks the start of the Wilder Blean journey in earnest and it’s incredibly fitting that it coincides with a new year. I can’t wait to see what the next twelve months will bring for this important project.”
