Camera Traps Capture Wolves Hunting European Bison for the First Time
Camera traps have captured wolves hunting a herd of European bison in an ancient forest in Poland for the first time.
New research published in the journal Ecology and Evolution suggests that European bison, despite their size and reputation as animals with few natural predators, are not entirely safe from wolf attacks. Researchers from the Polish Academy of Science have filmed an encounter using remote camera traps that prove the species does face attacks from wolves.
According to a report by IFLScience, the footage was captured on September 15, 2025, deep within Białowieża Primeval Forest, which straddles the border between Poland and Belarus. European bison were reintroduced to the area in the 1950s after the species had disappeared from the wild.
The video shows a pack of seven wolves targeting a herd of 11 bison. The wolves focused their attention on a newborn calf, which they managed to bite and begin dragging away. Two adult female bison then charged at the predators, forcing them to retreat.
The wolves did not abandon the attack. They returned and seized the calf a second time, but were once again driven off by the adult bison. The herd then gathered around the calf, and the wolves eventually ended their pursuit.
According to IFLScience, wolves regularly hunt American bison in North America, a separate species from the European bison. But in Europe, documented encounters between wolves and bison are extremely rare, with only a small number of historical accounts recorded.
“To our knowledge, we present the first video-recorded evidence of wolves attacking a European bison herd in the Białowieża Primaeval Forest, focusing on a newborn calf,” the study authors write, according to the news outlet.
They add: “Although the video did not show a direct kill, our observation demonstrated that the European bison is, in fact, a potential prey for wolves.”
The footage is notable because of the species’ history. European bison, the largest land animal in Europe, became extinct in the wild in 1919. They were reintroduced into the Białowieża Primeval Forest in 1952, and Poland now has the world’s largest population of European bison. Despite the newly documented behavior on the camera trap footage, the researchers from the Polish Academy of Science do not believe wolf predation is occurring at a level that would threaten the overall bison population.
