# The Dragoș Vodă Bison Reserve, Neamț County

> The Dragoș Vodă Bison and Carpathian Wildlife Reserve was established in 1968. The first three bison were brought here from Poland in 1970. In 1974, a male and a female were born.

2016-09-12, Nature

The Dragoș Vodă Bison and Carpathian Wildlife Reserve was established in 1968. The first three bison were brought here from Poland in 1970. In 1974, a male and a female were born. The Dragoș Vodă Bison Reserve, now Dragoș Vodă Zoo, is one of the four protected areas within Vânători-Neamț Natural Park and covers approximately 11,500 ha. Of the 28 bison at Vânători-Neamț, only 7 – two males and five females – are housed at Dragoș Vodă Zoo for visitors to see. The remaining animals are in the Acclimatisation Park, which covers a fenced area of 180 hectares of land. Today, alongside its bison population, the zoo is home to Carpathian red deer, fallow deer, a pair of mouflon, roe deer, foxes, a bear, a wolf and various species of birds. The zoo has 3 ponds named Zimbrilor, Căprioarelor and Cerbilor, specially prepared for fishing, with fine specimens of carp, crucian carp, zander, pike or perch; the most attractive pond is the very well-maintained Zimbrilor Lake, right at the entrance to the reserve, on the left.

Since 2002, the accommodation facilities in the reserve have benefited from a modernisation programme, so that today the Dragoș Vodă European Bison Reserve is one of the largest and most representative reserves in Europe and one of the most visited tourist attractions in Neamț County.

The Visitor Centre of the Park includes:

1) The Bison Museum with a series of temporary and permanent exhibitions, including the temporary exhibition “În Alb și Negru” (“In White and Black”), the exhibition “Meșteșuguri și tradiții în ținutul zimbrului” (“Crafts and Traditions in the Bison Land”), and the exhibition “Zimbrul în Ținutul Neamțului” (“The Bison in the Neamț Region”), which is, in fact, the core exhibition;

2) The suspended walkway, built of wood at a height of 15 m over a length of 200 m, allows observation of fauna and vegetation.

Access roads: Piatra Neamț – Tg. Neamț (DN 15C); Suceava – Cristești (DN 2 then on DN 15B up to Tg. Neamț); Vatra Dornei – Poiana Largului (DN 17B); Borsec – Poiana Largului (DN 15); Bicaz – Poiana Largului (DN 15).

Visiting hours: winter (8 – 16), summer (8 – 18).

Prices: 3 RON for children, 5 RON for adults. For groups: 2 RON for children and 3 RON for adults, sums which grant access to the Zoological Garden and the Park Visitor Centre.

Info tel.: 0233.206.001; 0233.206.002

There are parking spaces, rest stops with benches and tables, and kiosks selling various products, including food.

- [Articles](https://neamt.tesseramo.com/en/articole/rezervatia-de-zimbri-dragos-voda-judetul-neamt-2)