Return of the European Bison to the South Caucasus

On 21 May 2019, as part of the bison reintroduction program implemented by IDEA, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan and WWF Azerbaijan, the welcoming ceremony of new bison herd took place at Shahdag National Park.

The event was attended by high level guests, the Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and IDEA founder Leyla Aliyeva and the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev.

After being hunted to extinction a century ago, 8 bison were brought to Azerbaijan from zoos in France and Belgium on May 16th within the project. The acclimatization area that will function as a bison breeding center for Azerbaijan has been built in the park. After showing signs of adaptation, animals from the acclimatization area will be released into the re-wilding area. 5 rangers are taking care of bison and will monitor them in the wild in future. 5 bison are collared with GPS collars to monitor them with VHF antennas. The next 12 more animals are expected to arrive in the current year. It is planned to have at least 50 animals as a founder group.

Nearby dwellers and schoolchildren also joined the opening ceremony in support of the conservation works carried out to restore the endangered species. At the same time, short presentation on the history of bison in Azerbaijan, their role in nature and efforts to protect the species was given to a group of local youth.

Through joint collaboration of IDEA, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and WWF Azerbaijan a number of projects are being successfully undertaken to restore the populations of rare species like the Caucasian leopard, gazelle and bison in the country.

Given the potential role of the bison in further enrichment of biodiversity and development of forest ecosystems in Azerbaijan, the project officers are calling those who live in the northern region of the country and the overall public in general to support the efforts of returning the bison to local nature, including their conservation and prevention of poaching.