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Summer is finally ending. Every morning the cranes remind you of the inevitably approaching autumn gray. Although, this year is extremely hot, even at the end of August, mornings are cold and hazy. As per every year, autumn is the time for preparation. For some, it’s the time for departure. For others, it’s the season of love. Bison bulls are busy flexing muscles to show who is the most important. In this season, bulls (which spend most of their lives in lonely wanderings) start searching for women companionship. Since competition is big, they fight for the position of a herd bull, and the one who wins receives the whole herd. Bison bulls are bigger than cows. They can weigh about 900 kilograms, and reach a height almost 180 cm in withers. They are characterized by a large disproportion between the front and rear parts of their body. The front is more pronounced with a clearly defined hump with thick hair sometimes resembling a lion’s mane. To present the silhouette of a bison bull, we present a gallery of some real gentlemen.

The national road no. 10, cuts in half the area of the oldest wild herd of bisons in West Pomerania. Car accidents involving bison on the section between Nieradź and Piecnik have been happening for many years. In 2017, as many as 9 bison died in accidents. However, in recent years, there has been much fewer collisions. The accident on August 11st of this year was the second incident in 2019. An adult bull around 12-14 years old was killed by extensive injuries (broken legs and pelvis) after being struck by a car. The nature of the animal injuries, and damage to the car, proves the enormous force of impact caused by high speed driving. This section of the national road is marked with warning boards, and the Wild Farm in Jabłonowo, emphasize the possibility of meeting bison crossing the road. In the event of an animal crossing the road, there is no time to slow down. For bison, the collision with a car is usually fatal. Nothing serious usually happens to the people who are involved, although the car is absolutely totaled.

 
The bison which died on August 11st, was born in the wild and probably was going to the wild herd of females because of the start of the mating season. Due to his age, excellent condition, and very large weight, he would have made a tremendous candidate in this season. Contrary to the popular opinion, this particular bull never dealt with a single person his entire life. He didn’t come from our closing pen, wasn’t fed apples, and didn’t have a disturbed reaction to the presence of people. Like most wild animals, he was moving around his territory. His presence on the route crossing the
road resulted from the location and shape of the Miroslawiec herd. He lived in the area for 30 years and lived at both sides of the national road on.10.

 
The employees of ‘Bison Emergency’ received information about the accident around 8pm and then immediately went to the site. Here they secured samples for testing and removed him from the unfortunate scene.

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The heat cannot be ignored. Pouring down from the sky and giving us no chance, leaving our poor
bison to bravely endure this heat wave. How have you been coping?