When the biologist Rafal Kowalczyk looked a few days ago with his binoculars towards the forest of Bialowieza, in Poland, he did not believe what he was seeing. While watching a group of 50 bison, the director of the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences detected a special specimen inside the herd.
"It is not unusual to see bison near the Bialowieza forest, but an animal caught my attention," he explains. "It was a light brown color completely different from the rest of the group. The bison are brown or dark brown. " In the beginning he had the idea that it was a mutation, but when he focused his binoculars on the animal he realized that it was without doubt a cow, specifically the Limousin breed, which is quite common in Poland.
The story, revealed a few days ago by the channel TVN24, is simply wonderful. The cow escaped a few months ago from a local farm and in his flight to the woods he joined the group of bison from which he now does not separate and which probably saved him from dying a few days later.
"It is not the first time that a cow escapes in this area, but it is the first time it joins a herd of bison," explains Kowalczyk. "With the bison he is safe from the wolves. If she were alone, she would surely have been a victim of the wolves. "
The specialist now believes that this association may be a risk for bison, because of the risk of hybridization, and that the cow itself could die in childbirth if pregnant with one of these animals. For now, the rebel cow walks with his new companions, enjoying a new life in freedom.
