LEXVIVO
genes, demes, and memes
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The Wisent Prince
Richard Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, a German prince, is reintroducing wisent, or European bison (
Bison bonasus
) into the German wild.
These bovine cousins of the
American bison (
Bison bison
)
once roamed the woodlands of Europe, but became extinct in the wild largely due to overhunting and loss of habitat. Although not an example of "deextinction"
per se
, the wisent may have much to teach about how once-and-future megamammals readapt to the wild.
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