TUMBLEWEED

About

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The bison nursery is located in the only biosphere reserve in Moscow region, and, in fact, one of the smallest in Russia. It encompasses the terraces and valleys on the left bank of the Oka River, which preserved plants and animals not common for this latitute. There're almost 1000 species of plants, 142 species of birds, and 57 species of wild mammals. But the main attraction of this reserve is certainly its European bison, otherwise known as a wild wood ox. The European bison is a contemporary of the mammoth, it was mainly bred for the tsar's hunting on the present territories of Belarus, Poland, and in the Caucasus mountains. However, after the revolution, the European bison almost became extinct. The scientists had to interbreed Belovezhsky bison, and a smaller Caucasion bison in order to save this species. Hence, the European bison we see today are way smaller then the ones Russian tsars hunted centuries ago.

Today, Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve has around 60 European bisons, and 5 American bisons, with new babies coming every few months. The bisons live in families, on a large territory of the reserve. However, they often hang around the mangers which are placed by the cage, so you'll definitely see at least a few of them. There's also a museum onsite, with maps and stuffed animals which inhabit this reserve.

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There's a café in the building opposite the ticket office. They have a larger menu during the weekends (when most of the tourists come to visit), the rest of the week they serve dumplings and freshly-cooked pancakes with tea made from the herbs of this nature reserve. For souvenirs, head to the shop next to the café selling everything bison-themed, ceramics, postcards, etc.