The European bison known as wisent, zubr, or the European wood bison, is a Eurasian species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the American bison. Three subspecies existed in the recent past, but only one, the nominate subspecies survives today. Analysis of mitochondrial genomes and nuclear DNA revealed that the wisent is theoretically the result of hybridisation between the extinct Steppe bison and the ancestors of the aurochs since their genetic material contains up to 10% aurochs genomic ancestry. Alternatively, the Pleistocene woodland bison has been suggested as the ancestor to the species. European bison were hunted to extinction in the wild in the early 20th century, with the last wild animals of the B. b. bonasus subspecies being shot in the Białowieża Forest in 1921, the last of B. b. caucasus in the northwestern Caucasus in 1927. B. b. hungarorum was hunted to extinction in the mid-1800s. The Białowieża or lowland European bison was kept alive in captivity, has since been reintroduced into several countries in Europe.

They are now forest-dwelling. The species has had few recent predators besides humans, with only scattered reports from the 19th century of wolf and bear predation. European bison were first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758; some descriptions treat the European bison as conspecific with the American bison. It is not to be confused with the extinct ancestor of domestic cattle. In 1996, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the European bison as an endangered species, its status has since been changed to being a vulnerable species. In the past during the Middle Ages, it was killed for its hide and to produce drinking horns; the European bison is the national animal of Belarus. The modern English word "wisent" was borrowed in the 19th century from modern German: Wisent, itself from Old High German: wisunt, related to Old English: wesend and Old Norse: vísundr; the Old English cognate wesend disappeared as the bison's range shrank away from English-speaking areas by the Late Middle Ages.

The word "zubr" in English is a borrowing from Polish: żubr also used to denote one race of the European bison. The Polish żubr is similar to the word for the European bison in other modern Slavic languages, such as Upper Sorbian: žubr or Russian: зубр; the noun for the European bison in all living Slavonic tongues is thought to be derived from Proto-Slavic: *zǫbrъ ~ *izǫbrъ, which itself comes from Proto-Indo-European: *ǵómbʰ- for tooth, horn, or peg. The English word "bison" was borrowed around 1611 from Latin: bisōn, itself from Germanic; the Proto-Germanic root: *wis- found in weasel referred to the animal's musk. The word bonasus was first mentioned by Aristotle in the 4th century BC when he described the animal, calling it in Classical Greek: βόνασος, romanized: bonasos, he noted that the Paeonians called it μόναπος. The European bison is the heaviest surviving wild land animal in Europe. At birth, calves are quite small, weighing between 35 kg. In the free-ranging population of the Białowieża Forest of Belarus and Poland, body masses among adults are 634 kg on average in the cases of males, with a range of 400 to 920 kg, of 424 kg among females, with a range of 300 to 540 kg.

An occasional big bull European bison can weigh up to 1,000 kg or more with a record of 1,900 kg. On average, it is lighter in body mass and yet taller at the shoulder than the plains bison. Compared to the American species, the wisent has shorter hair on the neck and forequarters, but longer tail and horns. See differences from American bison; the zubr makes a variety of vocalisations depending on its mood and behaviour, but when anxious it emits a growling-esque sound known in Polish as chruczenie. This sound can be heard from wisent males during the mating season; the lowland European bison's range encompassed most of the lowlands of northern Europe, extending from the Massif Central to the Volga River and the Caucasus. It may have once lived in the Asiatic part of; the European bison is known in southern Sweden only between 9500 and 8700 BP, in Denmark is documented only from the Pre-Boreal. It is not recorded from the British Isles nor from the Iberian Peninsula. A possible ancestor, the extinct steppe bison, B. priscus, is known from across Eurasia and North America, last occurring 7,000 BC, is depicted in the Cave of Altamira and Lascaux.

Another possible ancestor, the Pleistocene woodland bison, B. schoetensaki, was last present 36,000 BC. Cave paintings appear to distinguish between B. priscus. Within mainland Europe, its range decreased as human populations cut down forests, they seemed to be common in Aristotle's period on Mount Mesapion. In the same wider area Pausanias calling them Paeonian bulls and bisons, gives details on how they were captured alive; the last references to the animal i

3 South African Infantry Battalion is the Basic training unit of the South African Army. On 28 November 1961, SADFO 181/61 Inception and Allocation of units of the Permanent Force, was issued by Commandant-General P. H. Grobbelaar; this SADFO contained the name of 3 SA Infantry Battalion, leading to the unit's inception on 1 January 1962. On 17 January 1962 the newly appointed Officer Commanding, commandant J. J. Wahl, personnel gathered at Auckland Park where the purpose and other commitments of the unit were explained. 3 SAI's first headquarters was established at Lenz by March of that year. 3 SA Infantry Battalion moved to Potchefstroom on 5 December 1968 with Commandant B. A. Ferreira as the new Commanding Officer. 3 SAI was given an additional responsibility. Two infantry Battalions were organised under the command of one Commanding Officer. During 1970, 3 SA Infantry Battalion was transformed into a force-in-being. National service intakes now took place biannually, in July; this resulted in large intakes.

From January 1969 to January 1971 over 3,000 national servicemen passed through the unit. The role of the unit changed temporarily from the training of national servicemen to training Citizen Force members in 1987. In January 1988 the Commanding Officer North-West Command announced that 3 SA Infantry Battalion was going to move yet again, this time to Kimberley; this move took place by convoy on 5 December 1988. It was to become a voluntary service unit with colonel J. M. R. van der Riet as Commanding Officer from 16 December 1988. On 17 September 1990 the unit moved to its present location at Midlands base, Kimberley. By March 1987 the Chief of the Army instructed that companies of the State President's unit complete the last six months of their training at 3 SA Infantry Training Unit, to be deployed in operations. National Service intakes ceased when the unit moved to Kimberley on 5 December 1988; the units’ main responsibilities now were training and operational. In 1989 the unit was settled at Diskobolos in Kimberley under the Northern Cape Command.

The new source of manpower was volunteers with recruitment from the Northern Cape, Orange Free State and Transvaal. The first voluntary intake arrived in January 1990. During 1997 the unit changed to the training depot of the Army; the first female intake for Voluntary Military Service took place in January 1999. In January 2005 the unit had its biggest Military Skills Development System intake ever. About 2000 recruits were called up; the unit presents formal training to Permanent Force members of the SA Army. During 1997 the unit changed to the training depot of the Army; the first female intake for Voluntary Military Service took place in January 1999. In January 2005 the unit had its biggest Military Skills Development System intake ever. About 2000 recruits were called up; the unit presents formal training to Permanent Force members of the SA Army. On 17 April 1971 3 SA Infantry Battalion received its colours from Commandant-General R. C. Hiemstra. 3 SA Infantry Battalion received the Freedom of the City of Potchefstroom on 27 May 1988.

A parade was formed at the city hall. A march-past followed through the streets of the town after which guests of honor and senior officers attended a luncheon at the city hall; the Freedom of the City was conferred upon 3 SAI Bn on 13 April 2005. 3 SAI Bn is the fourth military institution to be honoured with the Freedom of the City of Kimberley. "3 SAI National Service". Sentinel Projects. Barry Fowler. Retrieved 18 October 2014. "3 South African Infantry Battalion Gallery". "3 SAI Ops Medics Gallery". Archived from the original on 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2014-10-10

Blanck Mass is a British electronic solo project by Benjamin John Power, one of the founding members of drone band Fuck Buttons. His track "Sundowner" was used at key points during the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic games, it was first heard. It was played when the Olympic Flag was paraded, as the Olympic Flame was brought to the stadium in a speedboat. Blanck Mass opened for Icelandic band Sigur Rós on their 2013 UK tour. In 2014, Power announced that he was close to finishing off a new Blanck Mass album, supported Jon Hopkins at the Royal Festival Hall in September. Power released Dumb Flesh through Sacred Bones Records on 11 May 2015; the vinyl version included an exclusive track "Life Science". Power supported the release with tours and dates in the UK, US, Europe and Australia and received critical acclaim for the album. In the year Power released The Great Confuso EP which featured a brand new three-part track as well as remixes of album tracks by Genesis P-Orridge and Konx-Om-Pax. A 12" version of the EP limited to 500 copies in Pumpkin and Mulberry coloured vinyl was released for Record Store Day 2016.

On 20 July 2016, Power announced a new track "D7-D5" via Adult Swim as part of their Adult Swim Singles 2016 campaign, released on vinyl in October 2016. The self-titled album Blanck Mass was released in 2011 through Mogwai's Rock Action Records label and is Benjamin John Power's first solo effort after spending seven years as one half of Fuck Buttons. Resident Advisor said that the album "makes the most sense in a car at night, or any place that you can immerse yourself in its atmospheres in cocoon-like surroundings"; the album was Power's first experience with production work, it paved the way for him to make his subsequent album Dumb Flesh. Dumb Flesh is the second album by Blanck Mass and marks the switch from the Rock Action Records label to Sacred Bones Records; the album has been described by Pitchfork as danceable and more accessible than the first self-titled album: "Power's strengths come out at once: dark noise gives way to a pounding rhythm which, in turn, melts into a tapestry of airy synths".

Dumb Flesh received ample critical acclaim and it was toured extensively throughout 2015. The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears is a brand new original score to the 2013 Giallo film of the same name; the film had no original score and used music from existing Giallo films instead. The re-score of The Strange Colour Of Your Body's Tears is a stage experimentation and collaboration with different artists from across the globe; every artist had a different scene assigned and were given complete freedom to score that particular scene however they wanted. The album was released by Death Waltz Recordings. Power's third solo album was released on Sacred Bones Records on 3 March 2017 on limited edition black/red marble vinyl, standard vinyl, CD and digital; the Pitchfork review said that the album was "suitable for casual noise fans who have some curiosity for extreme music and a decent threshold for pain". Power's fourth album under the Blanck Mass moniker was released on 16 August 2019 on Sacred Bones Records, with various limited edition vinyl versions available.

Reviews were favourable, with The Guardian calling it "an album that fuses existential fear with sheer beauty". Blanck Mass' musical style has been described as drone music, post-rock and experimental. Power has been influenced by the likes of Carl Sagan and Ennio Morricone to the "infinity of nature". Power has said that in his younger years he was a fan of Mogwai's post-rock instrumentals. Blanck Mass Dumb Flesh World Eater Animated Violence Mild "White Math" / "Polymorph" "Hellion Earth" The Great Confuso EP "D7-D5" "Odd Scene" / "Shit Luck" A Field in England: Original Soundtrack Recording Blanck Mass Presents - The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears Re-Score Blanck Mass on Bandcamp