#4 How the Foundation for Bison Research Was Laid in Volyn

25 stories of memories for the 25th anniversary of the Frankfurt Zoological Society in Ukraine. We spoke with the people who were there at the beginning of the organization’s work in Ukraine and implemented the first projects together with FZS.

In the fourth story, we recall the bison — the largest land mammals in Europe and a species that virtually disappeared from the wild at the beginning of the 20th century. How the population was restored in Ukraine, how researchers learned to understand these animals, and where the methodology that later helped study bison across Ukraine was developed is explained by Vitalii Smahol, PhD in Biological Sciences, who at the time was a senior research fellow at the I. I. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology. The photographs were shared with us by the team of Kivertsi National Nature Park “Tsumanska Pushcha”.

“The foundation for restoring the bison population in Ukraine was laid in Volyn,” – recalls Vitalii Smahol.

It all began with a regional bison restoration programme sometime around 2009–2010. At the time, everything looked very modest. If we remember correctly, there were literally 8–10 animals, while across Ukraine there were 217. Now, 15 years later, official figures speak of 25 individuals in Volyn and approximately 550 in Ukraine. And this is important: systematic work to increase the population began precisely in Volyn.

We were not simply “counting animals” back then—we were learning how to work with a species that was almost absent.

In Volyn, we refined the methodology. It was an attempt to understand the basics: where bison stay, which forests they choose, how their behaviour changes with the seasons, what they feed on, and how they migrate. We described their locations not simply as individual points but in seasonal terms. We looked at which forest types were key for them. We studied their trophic base. At the same time, of course, we carried out population counts. We also worked in parasitology: collected samples and studied helminths. We even tried to move into genetics, but at that time there were simply no specialists in Ukraine who could help us. And all of this became the foundation. It was in Volyn that the methodology was developed that was later applied throughout Ukraine.

In addition, the bison restoration programme became connected to the creation of a national park.

We worked in the territory of what was then the Zvirivske hunting estate, where Kivertsi National Nature Park “Tsumanska Pushcha” was later established. And I would say that the history of the bison is directly connected with the creation of this park, because the species itself became its symbol and an argument for protecting the area.

15–17 years ago, field trips took place without drones or camera traps.

Of course, it is easier now because there is so much equipment. Back then, none of this existed. We came several times a year: in autumn, winter, spring, and sometimes summer. We worked for weeks at a time. Seeing a bison in summer was almost impossible. The forest was closed—the leaves were there, and you could see nothing. At most, you could find fur, droppings, or tracks in the soil.

Winter was a different matter. Rangers began feeding the animals in November, and the bison got used to it. They knew when and where food would be available, and that was when we could see and record them. If there was proper protection and no threat—such as poachers—the animals would let us approach quite closely.

I may be repeating myself, but this is important: it was the Volyn project that gave us an understanding of how to increase the bison population in Ukraine.

After that, we worked in other regions of Polissia, in Vinnytsia region, in the Carpathians, and around Konotop. Several bison subpopulations have developed across Ukraine, and in one way or another, everyone working with them relies on the approaches we developed back then. This field experience also resulted in the monograph Bison, Bison bonasus in Ukraine: Population Dynamics, Distribution, Habitats and Limiting Factors.

I did not know Wolfgang Fremuth, but we received support from FZS through Mykola Kliestov.

He was very easy to work with; he was a communicator, a bridge between us and the Frankfurt Zoological Society. We published a brochure and a monograph, and for some time there were even billboards in Kyiv saying, “Let’s save them because they are disappearing from our lives,” including ones featuring bison. We also travelled to Poland for the first time to work with colleagues from the Friends of the European Bison Society. And essentially, all our international connections—with colleagues from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, and Spain—began at that time. These included consultations, exchange of experience, joint approaches, and these connections continue to work to this day.

Even before the full-scale war, we were planning to bring bison to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.

An enclosure had been built, the animals were practically ready for relocation, and they were waiting at the border. Unfortunately, it did not work out.

There are seven bison subpopulations in Ukraine overall. So I try to visit at least several of them somewhere each winter. Recently, I was invited to Volyn, where they showed me high-quality camera-trap images and shared the good news that two calves had been born.

This is the fourth story marking the 25th anniversary of FZS in Ukraine. Read the first stories at the links below:

#1 Prypiat, Goldeneye ducks, and Fish Weirs — How FZS’s Work Began in Ukraine.

#2 How the Prypiat River Was Freed from Illegal Fish Weirs.

#3 Explore all of mountainous Crimea: the project that introduced Ukraine’s vultures to Europe