- [Voiceover] In former times, Europe used to have

large mammals like the European wild horse, the auroch,

and also the European bison.

We lost the European wild horse, we lost the auroch.

Both got extinct.

And we nearly lost the European bison.

Rewilding Europe is a new conservation initiative

in Europe, trying to make Europe a wilder place.

The bison plays a very important role.

We say it is a keystone species in European landscapes.

Because of its grazing and browsing behavior,

it has an impact on the vegetation and the landscape,

and that brings new species in the system, in fact.

(contemplative music)

We're here in Armenis in Romania.

These bison that have been brought here today

have traveled a few thousand kilometers by road.

People from the local community,

from the municipality, the mayor is here.

There's a whole community around Armenis, which, of course,

is very interested and also excited

about this initiative.

The animals get out of the truck,

they don't run away, they just hang around.

They put their horns in the ground,

and they start fighting with each other.

It's their way of trying to get used to a place.

We release them in small groups

into a small area, then we release them into the wild.

(ambient piano music)

Everybody knows Europe having fantastic cultural heritage,

but we also have a beautiful natural heritage.

It's amazing to see how nature responds,

and how species come back.

It would be a tragedy if we would lose another big mammal.

What we hope, of course, as Rewilding Europe,

is that large herds of bison can roam our landscapes again,

and people can enjoy it.