Captivity versus Freedom? How about Freedom made possible only thru Captivity? The fascinating true story of how the last 11+1 specimens [7 cows and (4+1) bulls] have saved the species called Wisent (pronounced /ˈviːzənt/) (Bison bonasus), also known as the European bison

I will detail this amazing story later, with more images and comments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisent

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY [  :) yes, I mean "long story - short" ]: this species was saved from the brink of extinction by the coordinated effort of breeding the last 12 specimens alive, all captive: 7 cows and 4 bulls of Lowland Wisent (Bison bonasus bonasus),  and 1 bull of Caucasian Wisent (Bison bonasus caucasicus) .

The eventual FREEDOM, semi-freedom or zoo captivity of the descendents was possible only thru CAPTIVITY, and selective breeding (yes, some in-breeding, too).

TBC (to be continued)

See, it might be a good idea to have a...Caucasian in your genealogic tree. :)

For comparison with the European bison: American bison (Bison bison).

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Please visit the Two 4 Tuesday meme: http://www.two4tuesday.com/home/two4tuesday/index.php/2011/01/18/captivity-freedom/

Captivity – Freedom

January 18, 2011