Prya is a young female who just turned two a month ago. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
Two female bison from the Prague Zoo, two-year-old Prya, and six-year-old Oman, are awaiting transport to Azerbaijan. In the Shahdag National Park, it will strengthen the reintroduced population of these ungulates in the wild. Both females left the Prague Zoo today to first get to know the rest of the herd intended for transport in the German Tierpark Berlin. They will head to the vast forests at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains in November.
“The two female bison that left Prague for Berlin today will strengthen the renewed population of these ungulates in the Caucasus in Azerbaijan. In this case, zoos are a modern-day Noah’s ark, which enabled the survival of animals exterminated in nature and their later reintroduction,” said the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek.
Prya, a female born in the Prague Zoo, will settle in the Shahdag National Park this year, which with its 130,000 hectares is the largest national park not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the entire Caucasus. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
Bison were exterminated in the Caucasus in the mid-1920s. The project for their return is supported by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA), of which the Prague Zoo is a member.
“For the transport, the breeding coordinator selected the young female Prya from our Prague stud, as well as the older, experienced female Omana, who will play the role of matriarch in the newly formed herd. Most of the bison candidates for transport have barely reached the age of three. Omana will thus ensure the natural structure of the herd, for the functioning of which the presence of experienced animals is important,” Barbora Dobiášová, curator of ungulates at the Prague Zoo, describes the selected individuals.
Omana is a six-year-old female and will play the role of matriarch in the reintroduced population. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
Prya was born in the Prague Zoo in June 2022 to mother Beatrice originally from Zoo Bratislava and breeding bull Tipita originally from Tierpark Berlin. Omana was born in May 2018 at the Olomouc Zoo and arrived in Prague in September 2019. The second mentioned female Bison can be easily recognized by the broken left corner.
Both females were safely loaded into transport crates around nine in the morning today and thus began their long journey from Prague through Berlin to Azerbaijan. It will arrive at Tierpark Berlin, which coordinates the project together with the German branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and collects the animals, today after 2 pm. The Prague Zoo will inform you about the exact date of the air transport.
The loading of both bison went well. In the picture, six-year-old Omana, who can be easily identified by the broken left corner, observes her surroundings from the transport box. Photo by Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo
The Prague Zoo has been breeding bison since 1948. Since then, over a hundred cubs have been born here. Prague Zoo has already provided animals from its breeding in the past for reintroduction, not only to strengthen the Caucasian population, but also to the Bieszczady National Park in Poland.