Development and Assessment of a Body Condition Score Scheme for European Bison (Bison bonasus)

Europe’s largest terrestrial mammal, the European bison (Bison bonasus), has been successfully restored after the species had become extinct in the wild. In various reintroduction projects, captive bred European bison have been released into different habitats. Vigorous monitoring efforts are necessary to document how well the animals adapt to their new environment. In this study, we present a scheme that was developed for the observation of the body condition of adult European bison. Unbiased people with different professional backgrounds were asked to apply this scheme. While additional research is necessary to further validate the scheme, it was easy to use and covered the essential body traits. Therefore, it can be a helpful management tool