The conservation management of European bison requires strong evidence and careful risk assessment: A response to “Comment: Nores et al. (2024) fail in their attempt to demonstrate the inappropriateness of an eventual introduction of the European bison to Spain as a rewilding initiative

Nores, Carlos ; Álvarez-Laó, Diego ; Navarro, Alberto ; Pérez-Barbería, Francisco Javier ; Castaños, Pedro María ; Castaños de la Fuente, Jone ; Morales Muñiz, Arturo ; Azorit, Concepción ; Muñoz-Cobo, Joaquín ; Fernández Delgado, Carlos ; Granado Lorencio, Carlos ; Palmqvist, Paul ; Soriguer, Ramón ; Delibes, Miguel ; Vilà, Montserrat ; Simón, Miguel ; Cabezudo, Baltasar ; Galán, Carmen ; García-Berthou, Emili ; Almodóvar, Ana ; Elvira, Benigno ; Brufao Curiel, Pedro ; Casinos, Adriá ; Herrero, Juan (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: We thank Bartolomé and colleagues for their interest in our recent article, “Rewilding through inappropriate species introduction: The case of European bison in Spain” (Nores et al., 2024). Our work critically evaluated the proposal to introduce European bison (Bison bonasus) into the Iberian Peninsula, considering ecological, biogeographical, conservation, and legal aspects. The reply by Bartolomé et al. presents alternative hypotheses but does not challenge our conclusions with new evidence. Our position relied on what the available data show and on the convergence of paleontological, ecological, climatic, and legal evidence (Nores et al., 2024). In contrast, Bartolomé and colleagues rely on hypothetical scenarios of the presence of European bison in Iberia, such as possible Holocene extinctions or preliminary sedaDNA signals (Gelabert et al., 2025), which, while intriguing, do not offer conclusive support for past presence of extant European bison in Iberia.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1111/csp2.70262

Año: 2026

Publicado en: Conservation science and practice 8, 4 (2026), e70262 [5 p.]
ISSN: 2578-4854

Tipo y forma: Artículo (Versión definitiva)

Área (Departamento): Área Ecología (Dpto. CC.Agrar.y Medio Natural)