Bisons and elks were native to our regions for thousands of years, today these large herbivores are missing. However, their numbers have increased again in Eastern Europe and with them the potential for immigration and resettlement in Germany. Scientists have now examined in more detail whether we even have suitable habitats for this and how conflict-prone the return of bison and moose would be.
Large herbivores such as bison and elk have long been an important part of our ecosystems – also here in Central Europe. But the increasing human presence and targeted hunting decimated their populations until both species were finally pushed out of central Europe. While the elk continued to exist in eastern and northern Europe, the bison were threatened with extinction at the beginning of the 20th century. However, the European bison were reproduced from twelve animals kept in zoos and game reserves and released into the wild, primarily in a region on the eastern border of Poland.
The return of the great herbivores
Today there are again more than 7000 bison in Poland and Slovakia, a small herd was also settled in the Rothaargebirge in Germany. In recent years, more and more elk and bison have been migrating west from Eastern Europe. Both are therefore seen again and again in East Germany. This raises the question of whether there are any suitable habitats for these large herbivores in Germany at all – and whether re-immigration and settlement of moose and bison is possible without major conflicts with humans. Because even the small herd of bison in the Rothaar Mountains caused disputes and intensive discussions with forest owners.
Hendrik Bluhm from the Humboldt University in Berlin and his colleagues have now examined more closely how great the potential for the return of the two large herbivores to Germany and the neighboring areas of Central Europe is. To do this, they created the largest data set to date on the occurrence of bison and elk in Central Europe and used habitat models to identify suitable habitats from an ecological point of view. They then used data on land use, population density, and the presence of human infrastructure to clarify potential for conflict and potential human pressure on populations.
Abundant suitable habitats
The result: “We were surprised how many ecologically suitable habitats we were able to identify for both species,” reports Bluhm. “Especially in north-eastern Germany such as the Schorfheide and Uckermark or the Mecklenburg Lake District, but also in the German low mountain ranges such as the Harz, Spessart, Thuringian Forest or Palatinate Forest, we find large habitat areas that can potentially be well suited for moose and bison.” In total, the habitats suitable for the bison in Central Europe cover 120,500 square kilometers, which corresponds to 13 percent of the study area.
Particularly extensive habitats for the bison can be found in the wooded landscapes of Poland, which border on existing herd areas, but also in the Carpathians. For the moose, even 26 percent of the area can be considered as a potential habitat, including the mouth of the Oder, the Lüneberger Heide or the Schorfheide. Theoretically, the large herbivores would also find enough space and food here to resettle. However, the prerequisite would be that there are not too many barriers blocking the way for the bison and moose migrating from the east: “Motorways and expressways in particular represent barriers for bison and moose, especially if they are fenced off high,” explains Blum’s colleague Tobias Kümmerle.
Potential for conflict increases towards the west
But even more decisive for whether a return of moose and bison is possible is social acceptance. “Bisent and moose can adapt very flexibly to different environmental conditions,” explains Bluhm. The question is therefore not whether these species will have enough space with us, but whether and where we humans will allow them to return. The current analyzes show that many of the habitats in Germany that are actually suitable for bison and elk harbor some potential for conflict. Of the 37 percent of habitats that are under high human pressure, more than half are in Germany.
Especially in the more densely populated west of the country, only a few areas could remain as suitable. In the east of Germany, the area that the bison and elk from Eastern Europe reach first anyway, the situation looks somewhat more relaxed. “Overall, our maps underline that an expansion of the range of bison and elk to the west is possible and plausible,” state Blum and his colleagues. However, how well and how far these large herbivores stay with us also depends on us.
Source: Humboldt University of Berlin; Specialist article: Diversity and Distributions, doi: 10.1111/ddi.13671