The European bison (Bison bonasus), the largest of the continent's land mammals, died out in the late Middle Ages. Slovakia retains no exact data on its extinction in the 15.th century, and only toponyms such as Zuberec, Zubrohlava and Zubrá indicate its original distribution, zubor being the Slovak name for the animal. It survived into the twentieth century in the wild only in Poland and Caucasia. As its world population has reached somewhat over 2,000, it is listed in the IUCN Red Book as a protected species. The preservation of the bison is Europe's greatest achievement in animal protection. Its reintroduction...