\u201cThere was this dominant bull wandering around and vocalising \u2013 it was annoyed because a younger bull was herding a couple of females away,\u201d Maccormick, who works for the Northwoods Rewilding Network<\/a>, recalls. \u201cMeanwhile, there were a couple of Exmoor<\/a> pony stallions [one of Britain’s native pony breeds<\/a>] rearing up and fighting. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up; it was like going back in time \u2013 like looking at a cave painting.\u201d<\/p> The tauros \u2013 wild-looking, muscular beasts with long horns \u2013 were bred from domesticated cattle and genetically at least were nothing to get excited about. But what they resembled and how they were behaving? That\u2019s a different matter. <\/p> That\u2019s because tauros cattle have been bred to resemble, as closely as possible, the extinct wild ancestor of all domestic cattle<\/a>, the aurochs, an animal many people will recognise instinctively from the depictions drawn by our ancestors in caves such as Lascaux in the Dordogne some 20,000 years ago.\u00a0<\/p> The aurochs were massive bovids, with bulls measuring between 160 and 180cm at the shoulder, and weighing up to a tonne, while cows were smaller at around 150cm. That\u2019s roughly equivalent in size to a modern dairy breed such as the black and white<\/a> Holstein; cows are usually just under 150cm tall. In contrast, a typical Highland<\/a> bull might be only 120cm, so significantly smaller.<\/p> Male and female aurochs were different colours \u2013 bulls were black with a pale dorsal stripe, while cows were chestnut brown.\u00a0 Both cows and bulls had horns, which were up to 80cm<\/p> Of course, those Stone Age humans <\/a>hunted the aurochs for food and over time became By the modern historical age, the species had been wiped out from most of its original range of North Africa, Western Asia (as far east as India) and Europe, and was confined to Central Europe, where woodland clearances between the 9th and 12th centuries were more or less the last rites. The last-known female aurochs died in a Polish forest in 1627.<\/p> Aurochs were here in Britain, too. Their bones have been found in neolithic burial chambers in southern Dorset<\/a>, Gloucestershire<\/a>, Leicestershire<\/a>, North Yorkshire<\/a> and into Scotland as far north as Shetland<\/a>. It\u2019s likely that they lived alongside, and were hunted by, Bronze Age settlers up until 2,000 or 3,000 years BC.<\/p> To be absolutely clear, tauros cattle are not real aurochs \u2013 they haven\u2019t been cloned<\/a> from DNA found in ancient bones.\u00a0<\/p> Beginning in the early 2000s, scientists working under the Tauros Programme in the Netherlands selected six of the cattle breeds that were genetically and physically closest to aurochs \u2013 such as the Maronesa from northern Portugal, the Sayaguesa from north-west Spain and the Podolica from southern Italy \u2013 and interbred them until they had produced an animal they believe closely resembles their ancient ancestor.\u00a0<\/p> Why go to all that effort? Conservationists believe that aurochs, or their successors the tauros cattle, can help create uniquely rich habitats for wildlife.<\/p> From stable isotope analysis of aurochs bones, scientists believe aurochs occupied marginal, wetland habitats and woodlands<\/a> \u2013 indeed, they probably helped create a mosaic habitat of forest, grasslands and marshes throughout the country. Many conservationists believe we miss these large herbivores because of the way they shaped the environment, increasing habitat and species diversity.\u00a0<\/p> Cattle, in general, are regarded as agents of rewilding. They are more selective grazers than, for example, sheep, creating different sward heights within a pasture while also poaching the ground with their hooves, both of which make space for wildflowers to get a foothold. Their dung provides food for invertebrates that in turn are eaten by birds, reptiles and small mammals.\u00a0<\/p> But aurochs \u2013 well, tauros \u2013 according to Ronald Goderie, one of the scientists who was instrumental in bringing them back to life, add that something extra to the ecological recovery melting pot. The males have an especially significant role because they create what Goderie calls bullpits during the rutting season. Using their hooves and horns, they carve out bowls in the earth, leaving bare soil and three-dimensional microhabitats in which pioneer plant species and invertebrates can get a foothold.<\/p> Research in Europe \u2013 where tauros have been left to rewild a number of different landscapes \u2013 has revealed the sheer scale of this mini-army invasion. Ground-nesting bees and wasps make their homes in these pits, while grasshoppers<\/a>, butterflies and dragonflies<\/a> are attracted by their warmth \u2013 the average bullpit is 5\u02daC warmers than its surroundings. Mice, rabbits<\/a> and foxes<\/a> make use of them, andWhat are<\/strong> aurochs<\/strong>?<\/h2>
What did aurochs look like and how big were they?<\/strong><\/h2>
When did aurochs go extinct?<\/strong><\/h2>
How can we bring aurochs back if they’re extinct?<\/strong><\/h2>
Are aurochs good for wildlife?<\/strong><\/h2>
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