Ground-breaking wilding project reaches two-year milestone - Kent Wildlife Trust

Since 2022, the UK has sworn in four new prime ministers, the interest rate has risen from 0.25% to 5.25%, and, as of the 18th July, bison have been in the Blean for two whole years.

For the team behind the Wilder Blean bison release at Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust it seems like only yesterday when, in front of the world’s media, the founding herd members made their first tentative steps into the woodland. It was a historic day, not just in conservation but in climate, as the UK experienced temperatures past 40 degrees for the first time since records began – a stark reminder of the challenges faced by climate change.

In the two years that followed the release of three original herd members, they increased in number to six, with a surprise calf, a bull arriving from Germany and a not-so-unexpected birth of a male calf in the winter. The woodland now has a New Forest feel to it, with free-roaming Exmoor ponies, longhorn cattle, and Iron-Age pigs, all bringing their unique browsing behaviours to the reserve, shaping the landscape naturally, boosting biodiversity, and helping to build climate resilience.

The first year of monitoring in West Blean was published, and though it is far too early to say how the bison are changing the area, there were some really interesting finds, including the discovery of the fungus beetle ‘Dissoleucas niverirostris’ which had not been recorded in the UK since 1988. Te Trust says they are not suggesting the bison can bring species back from extinction, but the find does celebrate the importance of wildlife monitoring.