The patter of tiny hooves can be heard at the Highland Wildlife Park, with the arrival of some adorable young animals.
Two European bison calves have made their public debut at the award-winning attraction near Aviemore, along with a Przewalski’s wild horse foal.
All three are now finding their feet at the Kincraig reserve.
But the newborns have yet to be named.
The first bison calf and Przewalski’s foal were born within a few hours of each other on April 30, while a second bison calf was born on May 19.
The calves were born to mothers Glen Doll and Glen Clova, whilst the wild horse foal was born to Val.
Both species had become extinct and have become the subject of successful reintroduction programmes back into the wild.
Douglas Richardson, head of animal collections at the park, said: “Because of our specialisation in cold weather adapted animals, the vast majority of births within the park occur in spring and early summer.
“The seasonal arrival of the bison calves and the horse foal is doubly satisfying as they perfectly represent the positive conservation role that good zoos have played for many years.
“The story of the European bison’s and Przewalski’s horse’s extinction in the wild, coordinated management in zoos and reintroduction back to the wild is probably the classic example of the contribution that good zoos can make. Neither species is yet considered safe, but they are definitely a lot healthier than they would have been.”
Found in the Steppes of central Asia, the Przelwalski’s wild horse is the last surviving species of wild horse and is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Formally listed as extinct in the wild by 1969, the IUCN has reclassified the species to endangered after the species was successfully re-introduced into their native habitat in Mongolia in 1992.
Although outside of the species’ natural range, there is even a herd within the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which was successfully expanding on its own, but has more recently been the subject of poachers’ attention.
The European bison is the largest terrestrial animal in Europe and is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Extinct in the wild in 1926, with only a few surviving individuals living in European zoos, the European bison was also successfully re-introduced into the wild and can now be found in free-ranging and semi-free herds in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Slovakia.