Are There Bison in the UK? Kent's Wilder Blean Project

The Wilder Blean project

Wilder Blean is run by Kent Wildlife Trust and the Wildwood Trust, two Kent conservation charities, with funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery. Its aim is to test whether bison can help restore a more natural, varied woodland in an area that was heavily planted with conifers for timber in the 20th century.

The bison live in a fenced section of West Blean and Thornden Woods, part of the larger Blean woodland complex, one of the biggest areas of ancient woodland in southern England. The animals are free to roam within this area and find all their own food. Other grazing animals such as cattle and ponies are also used on the wider site.

Why were bison chosen?

The European bison is often called an “ecosystem engineer”, meaning an animal that changes its habitat in ways that benefit other species. Bison do this in several ways:

• Stripping bark. Bison rub against and eat the bark of trees, which can kill some trees, especially dense plantation conifers. This opens up the canopy and lets light reach the woodland floor.
• Opening glades. By grazing, browsing and trampling, bison create a patchwork of clearings, scrub and trees.
• Dust baths. Bison roll in dry earth to keep off insects, making patches of bare ground that are used by basking reptiles, burrowing bees and wildflowers.
• Dung and seeds. Their dung feeds insects such as dung beetles, and seeds carried in their fur and dung help plants spread.

Without large grazers, many British woodlands grow dense and dark, and people spend a lot of time and money clearing them by hand or machine. The project is testing whether bison can do this job naturally.

The first bison and the first calves

Three female European bison were released into the woods on 18 July 2022. A bull was meant to follow quickly, but his arrival from mainland Europe was delayed by the extra paperwork for moving animals after Brexit, and he joined the herd in December 2022.

Meanwhile, the herd had a surprise. One of the females was already pregnant when she arrived, and in autumn 2022 she gave birth to a calf, the first bison born in the wild in Britain for thousands of years. More calves followed: a male in 2023 and two females in 2024, taking the herd to about eight animals.

Were bison ever native to Britain?

This is one of the main debates around the project. Bison definitely lived in Britain during the Ice Ages, when the land was connected to mainland Europe. These were the steppe bison and other prehistoric bison, which are now extinct.

There is no firm fossil evidence that the European bison itself lived in Britain after the last Ice Age ended about 11,700 years ago. Britain became an island around 8,000 years ago, and forest grew over much of the land. Supporters argue that the European bison is the closest living relative of Britain’s lost wild bison and that its effect on woodland is what matters. Critics say Britain should focus on species that are definitely native.

Is it the first time bison have been tried in the UK?

No. In 2011, three European bison were taken to the Alladale Wilderness Reserve in the Scottish Highlands, but the project struggled and ended in 2013. European bison are also kept in several British zoos and wildlife parks, including Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, but these are captive animals. Wilder Blean is the first project in Britain to let bison roam over a large woodland area and live largely as they would in the wild.

Can you visit the Kent bison?

The bison area is not open for walking among the animals. Because bison are large and powerful, the site is managed by trained bison rangers, and the animals are watched from a safe distance. Kent Wildlife Trust has run guided walks and viewing opportunities, and paths in the wider Blean woods remain open to walkers. Check the trust’s latest guidance before visiting, keep dogs on leads and never try to approach the herd.

Other UK rewilding projects

The Kent bison are part of a wider effort to bring back missing animals to Britain:

• Beavers now live wild in Scotland and England after official trials and licensed releases; see are there beavers in the UK?
• White storks have bred again in southern England, starting at the Knepp Estate in West Sussex.
• Wildcats have been released in the Cairngorms National Park to support Scotland’s tiny population.
• White-tailed eagles have been reintroduced to the Isle of Wight and earlier to parts of Scotland.
• Lynx remain the most controversial candidate; see are there lynx in the UK?

To learn how the wisent came back from extinction across the continent, read are there bison in Europe?