Bison are being introduced into British woodland in a £1m venture to restore an ancient habitat and its wildlife.

A herd of 4 European bison – the continent’s premier land mammal – will dwell in a fenced enclosure at Blean Woods around Canterbury in Kent.

Adult males can weigh up to a tonne but they are tranquil and will be stored away from community footpaths, claims Kent Wildlife Rely on and the Wildwood Have faith in.

It is the initially time they have been brought into a nature reserve to help Uk wildlife.

Authorities say they can assistance other animals and plants by felling trees, which makes parts of area and light, as effectively as creating deadwood that is helpful for fungi and bugs.

The belief stated bare earth patches made by the bison “dust bathing” would also be very good for lizards, burrowing wasps and uncommon arable weeds.

The bison will held in a broader 500 hectare (1,200 acre) place that will also use other grazing animals this kind of as Konik ponies to generate a diverse habitat.

European bison are the closest living relative to the historical steppe bison that as soon as roamed Britain.

Paul Whitfield, director normal of Wildwood Believe in, stated: “The companions in this project have extensive dreamt of restoring the real wild woodlands that have been lacking from England for way too prolonged.

“This will permit people today to practical experience character in a way they haven’t right before, connecting them back again to the purely natural earth all over them in a further and much more meaningful way.”