As the first wild UK bison herd in thousands of years, welfare is of paramount importance to the Wilder Blean team. Don and Tom often begin their days tracking down the bison using their GPS collars or with Indiana Jones-style tactics like tracking hoofprints. Three times a week, the rangers make an assessment known as body conditioning-scoring which notes how healthy the bison are. Everything is meticulously recorded so that trends can be analysed.
With a young calf in the herd, the rangers are currently providing a supplementary feed. Don and Tom are aiming to stop supplementary feeding altogether but need to make sure that the herd get used to their new diet and their territory first. Taking them off in winter was too risky but hopefully sometime this year their diet will be 100% Blean.
One of the less glamorous aspects of a bison ranger’s job is maintenance and repair.
Because bison are considered a dangerous animal under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, a double barrier of two fences has been erected to separate the bison from visitors to Blean Woods. Every day, Don and Tom must check the fences (and any other on-site equipment or structures) to see if there are any areas that need to be tightened up or repaired.
Our bison rangers also work with local contractors to liaise on activities such as traditional woodland management and the digging or flattening of road surfaces. Don and Tom need to make sure they know what is happening on site at all times, not just for the safety of the bison but also for the safety of the people on site.
People are a big part of the bison project. Don and Tom expressed a particular fondness of meeting curious walkers and answering questions about their job and the project.
Sadly, not all human interactions are so enjoyable. Don and Tom’s least favourite activity in the week is responding to anti-social behaviour or dogs off leads. More often than they would like, they have to repair damage to property, put camera traps up to try and catch criminals and explain to dog owners the importance of keeping dogs on leads near the bison enclosure. These tasks are not always easy but it’s important to find the best way to minimise impact to the bison while keeping people informed.
Tom said:
We love talking to curious visitors and walkers. Seeing the excitement on someone’s face when we tell them about the different personalities in the herd is really special.
As the Wilder Blean project develops, Don and Tom must prepare the site for events, visitations, and volunteer group activities. To do this, they’ve recently been working with new greeters and volunteers. Training involves getting them used to the site and the activities they’ll be conducting.
Finally, as the face of this world-famous project, our bison rangers often have to do last minute media interviews, phone calls, podcasts, guided walks and events. Working with the media and communications team at Kent Wildlife Trust also involves being a photographer and videographer – getting as much juicy footage for the comms team back at head office to use in places like the website, print and social media.
Bison rangers assist the Wilder Blean Lead Ecologist, Kora Kunzmann and various universities in collecting data for scientific research. Scientific research is an important part of the Wilder Blean project and allows us to collect data on bison and the ecological impact they have. The data supplied by the rangers make invaluable contributions to that science.
Don and Tom do this by regularly sharing their notes with Kora, including notes they’ve taken on interesting activity (and the specific location of that activity). This might include finding dung fungi growing from bison faeces or noting a new yew tree has been stripped of bark. They also have a commitment to 5 universities to provide regular environmental or faecal samples.
What really came across when talking to Don and Tom about their weekly activities is their sense of duty.
Don said:
We really care about the herd a lot and the sense of responsibility for them weighs heavily on us all the time. Every day is a learning curve as we get to know more about their personalities and they learn to trust us – it really is such a privilege.
But it seems the positive aspects outweigh the negatives; both Tom and Don are ever-enthusiastic and passionate. Watching their faces light up while talking about the bison herd is a sight to behold and I encourage anyone who sees them on site to give them a wave.
Now they’ve laid the groundwork for a growing project, a new bison ranger is needed to join the team. Kent Wildlife Trust are looking for someone to complement the skills of Don and Tom and help support all the work they do. If you think you have what it takes to join the team and be the third UK bison ranger, head over to the job vacancy page here.
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