The first bison to be conceived in a Kent woodland has been born, delighting conservationists.

The male calf is part of the herd at the West Blean and Thorndon Woods, near Canterbury, the focus of a project to boost the number of European bison, which were hunted extensively in the 20th century.

Bison and conservation grazing ranger Hannah Mackins described him as a “joyous addition”, following the introduction of the herd in July 2022.

Ms Mackins said: “The matriarch is 19 years old, and we were aware that she had difficulties in a previous pregnancy, but we have the benefit of the woodland environment and being able to monitor her several times a day and she has done so well.

“She is an amazing mum and we are so proud of her.

“This joyous addition to the herd demonstrates the project is making excellent progress in species recovery by supporting this vulnerable species.”

The group originally consisted of three females, one of whom unexpectedly gave birth in September 2022, several months after their arrival. The female calf that was born had been conceived in Ireland.

A fifth member of the herd, a bull, arrived last December.

The new calf, the offspring of the bull and the matriarch, was born in mid-November but his presence has only been announced now, to let him bond with the rest of the herd in peace, away from excited visitors.

The Wilder Blean Bison Project is a partnership between Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust.

The herd is the first in the English wild for more than 1,000 years and they have access to a portion of the woods, between Herne Bay and Canterbury, which is the size of 70 football pitches.

Each member of the herd was specially selected to ensure a genetically rich bloodline with the matriarch coming from Scotland, the two females from Ireland, and the bull from Germany.

The next phase of the project is to create special bridges to allow the growing group full access to the woodland

The European bison is the heaviest wild land animal on the continent and was hunted to the verge of extinction after the First World War.

The recovery in numbers gradually happened after a founding herd of 12 were brought together from private zoo collections for for a breeding programme.

Numbers eventually multiplied and today more than 9,000 bison are registered with the present European breeding scheme.