Wisent: bovine animal of the woods

The wisent is a distant relative of our domestic cow. In comparison to our domestic cows they have a far more slender build, a high back, short horns curved upwards and a rather solid, chestnut brown fur. In the shades of a fully-grown wood they are difficult to be discovered. Wisents are well adapted to life in a woody environment. Calves can't even bear too much sunlight and need a shady place.

In summer they have a short, smooth summer coat. Towards winter their hair becomes longer and shaggier and a fine underfur grows. In addition, a beard grows on throat, neck and chin, and a broad crop of hair appears at the back of the head. At birth calves are rather reddish grey than chestnut brown in colour. Only at the age of 6 to 7 months they get the colour of the adult animals. The high back of the wisents is formed by the lengthened bones of the thoracic vertebra. The cows have shorter, narrower and less stronger horns than the bulls. Bulls can weigh as much as 1100 kg and can be more than 2 m high. Cows weigh 350 to 600 kg and can reach a height of 1.75 m.