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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team<\/a> and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.<\/p>\n Three of Poland\u2019s iconic bison have been killed after being hit by a train \u2013 which, in a sad irony, was called \u017bubr, the Polish word for bison.<\/p>\n The train was travelling between Bia\u0142ystok, a city in northeastern Poland, and the capital Warsaw on Sunday morning when it ran into a herd of bison near the town of Witowo, close to Bia\u0142owie\u017ca Forest<\/a>, which is home to the country\u2019s largest bison population<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, the animals did not survive,\u201d a local police spokesman told the Polish Press Agency (PAP). But the 52 passengers on board and three crew members were unharmed, reports the Wirtualna Polska website.<\/p>\n The train was delayed for over two hours as firefighters, assisted by staff from the nearby forestry authorities and Bia\u0142owie\u017ca National Park, removed the dead animals from the track.<\/p>\n Poland is home to the world\u2019s largest population of European bison, also known as wisent, the heaviest wild land animal in Europe, with adults weighing up to 900 kg.<\/p>\n A century ago, bison had been hunted to extinction in Poland. But a successful reintroduction programme has seen their numbers swell to around 3,000, including over 2,800 living in the wild. In 2021, they were reclassified<\/a> as no longer \u201cvulnerable\u201d.<\/p>\n As numbers have expanded, reports indicate that bison are increasingly venturing into areas where they are more likely to come into contact with humans.<\/p>\n In 2023, the media reported several cases of bison being killed in collisions with army vehicles<\/a>. Last year, the Polish armed forces said they had reduced such incidents<\/a> using an app that tracks the animals\u2019 movements.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The annual winter census of bison for this year revealed a population of almost 1,200 bison in the Polish part of the Bia\u0142owie\u017ca Forest, a rise on last year\u2019s figure.<\/p>\n Piotr Sienkiewicz, a lieutenant at the local fire department, told Wirtualna Polska that the animals are often seen in the area where they were hit by the train, sometimes wandering onto roads and less frequently onto rail lines.<\/p>\n Local farmers have also recently pointed to an increasing problem with bison straying outside of the forest and eating their crops. They have demanded action from the climate ministry.<\/p>\n \u201cBia\u0142owie\u017ca Forest is too small for the bison population that is there now,\u201d Hubert Ojdana told agriculture website Farmer.pl. \u201cAccording to scientists\u2019 calculations\u2026 the forest should support [only] 400 bison\u2026As they don\u2019t fit inside the forest, they start to come out onto farmers\u2019 fields.\u201d<\/p>\n An impressive sight as a herd of Bison cross a road in Poland. \ud83e\uddac<\/p>\n Poland is the stronghold of the European bison (Bison bonasus), holding the world’s largest population of the species. Following their extinction in the wild in 1921, they were reintroduced and now roam in several\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/MoHH6oxjHy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE (@Protect_Wldlife) February 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u200b Main image credit: Wikimedia\/Charles J. Sharp<\/a> (under CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>)<\/p>\n Ben Koschalka is a translator, lecturer, and senior editor at Notes from Poland. Originally from Britain, he has lived in Krak\u00f3w since 2005.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team<\/a> and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ben-Koschalka.jpg\")
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