Killing for museums: European bison as a museum exhibit

Abstract

The European bison is one of the last remnants of the megafauna that once roamed through Europe. By the early modern period, it had already disappeared from most of its former range and had become a coveted natural curiosity as well as been designated as royal game. In the 18th century, the last population of lowland European bison surviving in the Białowieża Forest became an object of study for naturalists. When the forest became a part of the Russian Empire during the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the Russian Imperial family's attention to the species that ensured its survival. In the same period, the European bison was of the utmost importance to the scientific community—as a research subject (on the taxonomic position of the species, its relation to extinct Bovidae, etc.) and as a museum exhibit (to attract audiences interested in seeing the largest European mammal). Obtaining such a specimen demanded the scientific community's adept maneuvering through diplomatic and bureaucratic channels and depended on the Russian monarch's goodwill. The tsar's permission was only a start, as naturalists themselves had to organize hunts, process the pelt and bones, and deliver them to museums. Despite the considerable organizational and logistical difficulties, by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many museums were displaying the European bison, which succeeded in making the species well known to the wider public. In 1919, the last wild Białowieża bison was killed, but the popularity of this species helped the reintroduction of the animal a decade later. Today, the historical specimens are a source of samples for both genetic and molecular research.

Evolution of European bison image and its implications for current species conservation

“…Several illustrations were based either on observation of live animals or on specimens from Białowieża Primeval Forest sent to almost all major universities and zoological collections in Europe (for more on this subject see [ 48 ] and did not repeat errors characteristic of images from previous intervals, instead highlighting the most important anatomical traits of the species. Nevertheless, there were still publications containing images far from the species’ real presence ( Table 1 ).…”

Productive marginalities: The history of science in/aboutPolandsince 1989

“…46 Notable are studies on history of natural medicine-Ku znicka (1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)-and works on history of botany by Piotr Köhler and Alicja Zemanek. 47 Fedotova, Daszkiewicz, Rotherham, & Samojlik (2020) and Fedotova, Samojlik & Daszkiewicz (2018). See also Bohn, Dalhouski, & Krzoska (2017).…”