Bison-Rewilding-Plan-2014

Attachment: European bison bodycondition indexExplanationIn the wild, animals such as European bison buildup their body fat reserves during the growingseason. These reserves are accessed in winter. TheBody Condition Index (see below) is a tool usedto determine its condition, and the index determinesthe amount of fat and muscle coverage onthe animal. Each animal’s score tells us somethingabout its well-being, and is determined by itsbehaviour. The following behaviours are takeninto account: foraging, social, alertness and coatcondition. Both the body condition index and theanimal’s score are determined on a scale from 1 to5, where 1 refers to skinny and 5 to fat. The score ofan animal is always the same, regardless of age ortime of year. For example, a score of 2 in April looksthe same as a score of 2 in November. The aim isto score as many animals in the herd as possible.The whole herd receives a number by averaging thetotal of the indiviuals’ results, and the individualanimals also each receive a separate number.Body condition index:1 Poor, emaciated, severe undercondition2 Moderate, skeleton obvious3 Good, frame and covering well balanced4 Excellent, frame not as visible as covering5 Too fat, severe overconditionIn general it can be said that animals have thehighest body condition in the fall and the lowestat the end of winter/beginning of spring. Thisdecrease in condition is gradual. A score of 1 or 2does not say everything in itself. What time of yearis it? How is the behavior of the animal, ie what isthe animal score? It may well be that an animalscores a 1 or 2 for its body condition, but the animalscore is 4 or 5.Factors that play a role in determining the bodycondition are:• Age: Older animals are generally in a lessercondition than animals in the prime of theirlife. Often older animals are tougher: despitetheir poorer body condition they can have ahigh animal score• Gender: Males are often in a better conditionthan females. For females in general it canbe said that those who are not lactating orpregnant have a better body condition than theanimals who are, for they don’t have to invest intheir offspring.Example 1: a cow scores body condition 1–2 butkeeps joining the herd, the coat still shines andshe continues to actively seek food and respondsalertly to her environment (animal score of 5).This body condition score does not mean thereisan immediate reason to intervene. It can be atougher or older animal that survives in spite ofeverything.Example 2: a cow scores body condition 1–2 buthas separated from the herd, has no vital physicalappearance and has a apathetic response (animalscore 1). Intervention is required because of theduty of care. The cow must not suffer or die fromhunger or a complication caused by decreasedresistance which can be indirectly caused bymalnutrition.62