The typical of the wisent is the striking and immediately eye-catching junction from head to the back – called ‘the withers’. The rustic and powerful animal also stands out through its striking and massive skull. Usually, the head hangs low down. Wisents have a fairly short neck, high legs, a relatively narrow body and a long tail.
The imposing stature ist impressive
Also the dark brown coat with its often reddish and grey shades, as well as the lush and dense hair growth on ‘the withers’, the front part of the body and the neck, are characteristic for the Kings of the forest. In the full-grown bulls, the hair in the beard of the fillet and tail grows up to 40 centimeters long.
Cows like bulls have two horns; these can be up to 35 centimeters long. The horns are curved inward and strong.
Bulls and cows differ significantly. Adult bulls can weigh up to one ton, reach more than two meters in height, and more than three meters in length. Cows are much smaller and lighter (up to approximately 500 kilograms). While bulls in the wild are usually not more than 16 years old, cows can live even up to 24 years long.
Wisents have a step length of approximately one and a half meters. They even can overcome obstacles two meters high and three meters wide. In the gallop, they typically do not run more than 500 meters of the piece. On the run, they reach a speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour but only at short distances.