European bison 

Due to their power and size, the bison will push through the dark and dense vegetation at West Blean and Thornden Woods. This will cause some trees to fall, opening up the canopy, spilling light onto the forest floor and benefitting an array of plant life. In turn, this will support many other species to thrive. 

Bison also like to dust bathe by rolling about on the ground, creating warm bare patches used by reptiles and burrowing insects. 

Bison fur traps seeds, transporting them around the site, and even gets used by birds to line their nests and insulate them. 

All of these different activities create different habitats and benefit different species. 

Longhorn cattle 

The new herd of cattle in this woodland will graze on the woody twigs of trees and scrub, creating some space in the woodland canopy for other vegetation to grow through. Cattle have similar impacts on the woodland to bison, due to their size, but their activities differ in a few vital ways. For example, cattle browse higher up on plants than bison and they do not dust bathe. Exploring the difference between bison and longhorns is a key part of the Wilder Blean project. 

Exmoor ponies 

As the bison and cattle create corridors throughout the woodland, the ponies will follow them through, nibbling at the shorter vegetation. This will prevent the corridors from growing back over and continue to enable less competitive species to reach sunlight and flourish. 

The ponies will target softer, herby vegetation like grasses, creating space for different species to grow through in grassy and scrubby areas.  

Iron-Age pigs 

Pigs “rootle” around in the soil with their snouts, looking for roots and bulbs. This activity disturbs the soil, causing even long-dormant seeds to grow and prevents the spread of thick vegetation that can take over a landscape and block sunlight from reaching the forest floor. 

Having these ecosystem engineers on site will create a biodiverse habitat which supports a wide variety of species. This will allow the woodland to be continuously regenerated and maintained by natural processes.