European Bison Reserves in Romania

       I won’t keep bragging about what a bison is. You know they’re the smaller relatives of those American buffalos you’ve seen in the movies about Wild West. Well, in Romania, the bison has been extinct for about two or three hundred years, and now we are trying to re-inhabit our lands with this creature. This is the reason Romania brought some bison from abroad and now we can count 83 bison in all four of our reserves around Romania.

      Let’s see where we can find these European bison over Romania’s territories.

1. Bison and Carpathian fauna reserve “Dragoş Vodă” – Neamţ





      Here, because of a project according to which the bison will be set free, the creatures are taught to eat less and find ways to keep themselves alive without depending entirely on humans. The first group should be released in the mountains near the reserve in the winter of 2010-2011.

Amongst bison (which the chances are you won’t see very close), you can also admire Carpathian deer, roe deer, foxes, wolves or different types of birds. There are also a few ponds, especially for fishing carps, crucians, zanders, river pirates or perchs.

      The reserve had twenty-eight bison at the last counting, but only six of them are kept closer for touristic purposes.




Official site: http://www.vanatoripark.ro/

How to get to the reserve: On the way from Târgu Neamţ to Neamţ Monastery, at about 1,5 km after taking the district road turn left. The roads are good.

How much: The entrance fee is 3 RON for adults and is 2 RON for children.

What to see nearby: Neamţ Fortress, Mihail Sadoveanu Memorial House, Ion Creangă Memorial House, Nicolae Popa Museum, Veronica Micle Memorial House, Monasteries: Secu, Sihăstria, Sihla, Văratec, Neamţ, Agapia




2. Haţeg – Slivuţ bison reserve





      This is the oldest bison reserve in Romania. The first two bison were brought from Poland in 1958, now there are seven of them, and they are in good shape. While it is not luxurious, if you have guts you can pet a bison through a hole in the fence. Not recommended though..




How to get to the reserve: You will find signposts leading to the reserve. On the road from Haţeg to Strei turn left at the signpost. Drive (or walk) about 3km on a good road through the forest.

How much: The entrance fee is 3 RON for adults and is 2 RON for children and students.

What to see nearby: Prislop Monastery, Sântămăria Orlea Castle, Densus Church – the oldest church in Romania.




3. “Neagra” – Bucşani bison reserve





      This is the largest bison reserve in Romania. It’s more of a ranch from where bison are sent to Neamţ reserve to be set free. There are thirty-seven bison now, all born in captivity and named starting with RO. If you really want to learn something about the bison, ask the caretaker. He is more than willing to share his experiences and, believe me, he has lots of stories to tell.

       To see them close you have to follow the road in the grass to a kiosk. Whatever you do, don’t jump over the kiosk because although you can see the fence, it’s not closed up and the bison can be very territorial. If you want to touch a bison there is a stuffed one in the cottage at the entrance.




How to get to the reserve: The best way (roadwise) we could find would be that on the DN72 road, between Târgovişte and Ploieşti – there is a district road from Adânca to Bucşani. Most probably there are no signposts, so you’d better ask a local. The young people usually know English, but to be sure remember these words: “spre rezervaţia de zimbri?” You pass Bucşani and the next village is Răţoaia where you turn left at the church. And then you keep driving till you get to the reserve. But our advice is to ask a local from time to time, just to be sure.

How much:1,5 RON + taxes (that’s about 1.8 RON)

What to see nearby:A unique collection of road bumps. And Târgovişte city, which is close.




4. “Bison Valley” natural reserve– Vama Buzăului





      This is Romania’s youngest bison reserve (since November 2008) and currently has only eleven bison, a deer and two kids. If you ask politely the caretaker he might let you touch the deer, which grew up in a human family and she’s not very skittish.

       The bison that are born here will be released in the Carpathian Mountains. One more thing, the administrators want to find each one of them a godfather that should buy them food for 12 months. Anybody interested?




How to get to the reserve: On the road DN10 from Buzău to Braşov, at Întorsura Buzăului exit, in the Brădet village to be exact, change direction to Vama Buzăului. You can find the reserve in Acriş, on the left side of the road.

How much: nothing

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