By 2080, a significant part of the Russian Arctic will be suitable for bison populations. Scientists from St. Petersburg State University and the Vologda Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences created a special algorithm that revealed upcoming environmental changes. In Russia, bison will be able to settle in areas up to the coast of the Barents and White Seas, covering approximately 1 to 1.9 mn km².

Today, the global bison population is about 9,000 individuals. They are bred in Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany—the last wild plains bison was shot in 1921 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, and in 1926, hunters reached the last wild mountain bison in the Western Caucasus. The current animals are descendants of individuals left in reserves and zoos, which scientists cross-bred to preserve the species. Today, bison are not threatened with extinction, but they are not found in the wild either. The Arctic is a promising region for the potential restoration of wild bison, and the first site became the famous Pleistocene Park.

Last August, 12 animals were sent to the Pleistocene Park located in Arctic Yakutia. The bison travelled nearly 8,000 km from Denmark over three weeks, and then endured a month-long quarantine before being released into the wild. This is just one of many upcoming attempts—the same musk oxen, before taking root in the vast expanses of the Sakha Republic, caused scientists a lot of trouble. In 2024, a new expedition to capture musk oxen on Bolshoy Begichev Island became known. Project director Nikita Zimov said the island is home to about 500 individuals and a family of reindeer herders with more than 1,000 reindeer. There isn't enough food for everyone, so it's safe to remove musk oxen for the park's needs. Admittedly, there are risks involved and it doesn't always go smoothly. For example, in 2010, an expedition brought 14 animals from Wrangel Island itself for the Pleistocene Park, but hopes for a stable population were not realised—all the migrants turned out to be males.

Today, the Pleistocene Park is inhabited by reindeer, moose, Yakut horses, steppe bison, two-humped camels, Kalmyk cows, Orenburg goats and Edilbaev sheep, in addition to musk oxen and bison. The project's goal is to create a fully-fledged ecosystem of the 'mammoth era'—this is how scientists intend to combat methane emissions that drive global warming, preserve permafrost and develop the adjacent territories. In addition to animals, scientists are seeding the park with grasses that better absorb CO₂, reflect sunlight and retain methane in the soil. If vast steppes replace the tundra, gas emissions into the atmosphere will be significantly reduced, slowing the melting of ice. In 2024 and 2025, the park management intends to increase the area from 16 to 160 km², as well as increase the number of animals to 1–2 thousand. The large-scale transformations became possible thanks to the cooperation between Pleistocene Park and the Andrey Melnichenko Foundation.

The scientists' algorithm for the spread of bison by 2080 likely rests on similar expectations—a warming Arctic will lead to a reduction in permafrost and the spread of more nutritious grasses that could form the basis for a new population of large ungulates, including bison. It's unlikely they'll ever become commercial animals again, but they could easily become a tourist attraction.

Musk oxen have become an integral part of many Arctic tours over the past decade. Tour operators take hundreds of people to Ingilor Park and Zavyalova Island, to Yamal and Wrangel Island every year, and judging by the general increase in interest in the AZRF, their numbers will only grow. For example, ideas have been proposed about bringing musk oxen to Kildin Island in the Murmansk Region—species conservation and creating a tourist attraction often go hand in hand. The approach for bison is expected to be similar, as evidenced by the visitor statistics for Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus. Today, however, you won't be able to meet them and take pictures—tourists are not allowed into the Pleistocene Park.

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