---
title: "Wisent"
description: "Bos bonasus — Zoogdieren. The European bison (pl.: bison) (Bison bonasus) or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/wisent
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Wisent

> Bos bonasus — Zoogdieren. The European bison (pl.: bison) (Bison bonasus) or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison.

- Scientific name: *Bos bonasus*
- Category: `mammals` (Zoogdieren)
- Habitats: `forest` (Bos)
- iNaturalist observations: 2091
- Wikidata: [Q81091](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81091)
- iNaturalist taxon: [1696537](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1696537)

## Names

- en: Wisent
- de: Europäischer Bison
- es: Bisonte Europeo
- fr: Bison d'Europe
- it: Bison bonasus
- nl: Wisent
- pt: Bisonte-europeu
- pl: Żubr europejski

## Countries with the most observations

PL (548), RU (346), BY (99), DK (57), RO (42), UA (17), LT (16), ES (14), SK (7), DE (4), BG (3), GB (3)

## Summary

The European bison (pl.: bison) (Bison bonasus) or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the American bison. The European bison is the heaviest wild land animal in Europe, and individuals in the past may have been even larger than their modern-day descendants. During late antiquity and the Middle Ages, bison became extinct in most of Europe and Asia, surviving into the 20th century only in northern-central Europe and the northern Caucasus Mountains…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_bison

## Photo

![Wisent](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/wisent/medium.jpg)

Photo: Francesco Cecere · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/5229399

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/wisent?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).