European Bison or Wisent

The European bison, also known as the Wisent, is a forest dwelling bison, and love conifer and spruce forest habitat, so they thrive in mixed type forests like we have here at Silvertine, thus making them the most challenging Bison we offer hunts for. The European Bison is not as easy to domesticate as the American bison, thus their wild instincts to hide and flee is amazing! Hunting for one particular bull can be just as challenging as any whitetail buck!

The European Bison, occurs in the Bialowieza Forest area in Poland and Belarus, and this is the only place left on earth we can hunt them in the wild, and that is presently under a very limited in quota...so it's VERY expensive! At one point the European Bison was endangered and did not live in the wild anymore due to habitat displacement (Agricultural  and Logging Practices) and settlers needing to harvest the Bison to feed their families. The European Bison is a success story of a species that can be brought to the edge of extinction, and threw the great efforts of a few, it has been brought back for us to enjoy.  No longer on the endangered species list they estimate that the world population both wild and ranched is around 4000 plus animals.

The European bison is the largest land mammal in Europe, older mature bulls weigh up to 2000lbs and stand 6 - 6.5 feet at the shoulder. They are built much different than the American Bison because they evolved in a different environment than the American Bison, they evolved in the forest and as a browser more so than a grazer. There is only two remaining species of Bison left in the world, the Wisent or European Bison (Bison bonasus) and the American Bison (Bison bison), the Plains and Woods are sub-species of each other. The Wisent has longer legs and tail, shorter hair and their horns point more forward like domestic cattle than up like the American Bison, less sets of ribs, and are narrower in the chest. The meat tastes exactly the same as American Bison in flavor and texture.

There is only two breeders in all of North America for this unique animal. One fellow in the USA and myself here in Canada at Silvertine. My entire herd stems from the original imports from Europe, and these original animals are still in alive and well in my herd today! When the importing Zoo discovered they were too much to handle, they sold them. Mine are these original pure-blood stock, and as of 2018 my herd has grown to over 45 head, making them "probably" one of the largest private herds in the world.

Now, after many years of growing and "collecting", I need to start managing my herd, and harvesting my older bulls, many of which are 11 - 13 years old. My bulls are so big, they will re-write the SCI top 10 Record Books!

My Trophy European Bison Hunts (Wisent) are limited to just two to three exceptional bulls each year to continue for years to come high quality old trophy bulls for my hunters. Hunts run $16,000.00USD to $23,000.00USD depending on SCI Record Book Horn Size, body size, and age. Hunts for Older Trophy Cows are offered for $7,500.00USD

For more general knowledge and info on the Wisent, please feel free to visit my website that specilizes in them at www.thewisent.ca