Embedded Files
Photo: Foidl, D. (2015, June 18). An illustration of 20 aurochs-like breeds and more. The Breeding-back Blog. https://breedingback.blogspot.com/2015/06/an-illustration-of-20-aurochs-like_18.html
More Cowbell!
More Cowbell!
We have all seen the multi-arrow recycling icon, and we know that the process of recycling includes breaking down something that has been used or no longer functions, reusing the components, and making something that fills a need.
The same systems exist in nature, but, we have lost our work horses, or in this case, work cows! Across Europe, until the early 1600s, there used to be herds of massive wild bovines (aurochs) that did the breaking down, reusing, and remaking of environmental resources. They were really good at it, and no other species could work the land and feed the land in quite the same ways as the auroch could.
Their absence has blasted a hole into many ecosystems and biomes across Europe, and it has triggered a trophic cascade (an ecological network's domino-style downfall) that we have only begun to understand.
So, why are aurochs, specifically, important to environmental sustainability, and can we ever actually fix what we broke and reconcile with the land?
We, as a species, owe a lot to cows, and we have owed a lot to them for over 10,000 years. The auroch is patient zero for humanity’s global bovine domestication and breeding efforts, a fact that has been substantiated by genomic sequencing of modern European cattle species (Orlando, 2015). It turns out that most modern cattle can be traced back to fewer than 100 female aurochs from, what is likely, a handful of small Neolithic villages in the Euphrates Valley and the High Tigris Valley. That's the area around where modern-day Iraq, Syria, and Turkey meet and towards the Persian Gulf and Kuwait (Bollongino, et.al., 2012). There is evidence from studies into nuclear genomes of modern British cows that demonstrates links to aurochs, and that some of the alleles that make modern cattle so good at milk production and immunity to certain pathogens may be alleles inherited from wild ancestors. In fact, domestic cattle continued to breed with wild aurochs over long periods of time, further enhancing their genetic strengths and gene expressions (Orlando, 2015).
But then, we killed all the aurochs.
Photo: Floate, K. (2024, October 10). Cow patty critters: Understanding dung insects in your pasture. Canadian Cattlemen. Retrieved October 17, 2025, from https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/livestock/cow-patty-critters-understanding-dung-insects-in-your-pasture/
Sans Poop!
Sans Poop!
From then on, no bullshit (literally and actually), the largest herbivores across much of Europe began to steadily decline in both numbers and range. Truthfully, everything really needs bullshit. Heaps of it. Steamy, smelly piles of fly-infested crap. Without these behemoth butt nuggets, we are likely to start seeing less biodiversity in both plants and animals, and even more forest fires (Goderie et. al., 18)? That's a big claim, but let's map it out.
Without large terrestrial herbivores, bushes, tall grasses, even fast-spreading trees begin to establish themselves quickly across once-trafficked land because grazing and trampling pressure is significantly reduced or totally eradicated. “Aurochs, a heavyweight grazer of vegetation, prevented landscapes from becoming intensely forested. Maintaining diverse landscapes from open soil to grasslands was deemed possible thanks to the daily grind of such herbivores,” (Ozkurt, n.d.). Let’s not assume, however, that aurochs were limited to only one biome; they lived in “woodland, woodland edge, grassland and wetland,” (Fair, 2024), and just controlling certain plant species from taking over wasn’t their only talent.
Aurochs, like other large grazing herbivores, create a perfect environment for a variety of plants that only do well in disturbed soil (pioneer species), they protect smaller herbivores by proximity (Fair, 2024), create highways through dense forest, and provide nesting material (fur) and attract insects for a variety of bird and reptile species to eat (told you poop was important!) (Ozkurt, n.d.). In addition to their holy poo, when an auroch died, whether though predation, or happenstance, the body returns its captured energy and resources to the species that consume it, to the microbiome of the soil, and to the soil's mineral cache. 1000 kilograms is a lot of stored potential (Goderie, 2022).
Bring Back the big guns
Bring Back the big guns
Bringing back the big guns protects the whole system from burning down, including agricultural lands and human homes. “By eating long grass and shrubs, grazers help the carbon shift from above-the ground vegetation to the soil, boosting carbon storage and making ecosystems more resilient to fire,” (Vital, 2024). Essentially, the aurochs and other large grazers take burnable biomass from above the ground and turn it into a soil amendment. Besides their terrific turds, auroch bulls also modified the landscape in other, more aggressive ways. For example, the bulls would create, “bowls of bare earth carved out by the bulls’ horns and hooves, with the mighty beasts also strengthening their neck muscles by smashing their heads against one side of the pit,” (Barkham, 2024). These pits, tracts of bare earth, grazed and trampled lands all acted as a system of firebreaks, and when the species expired, “their job as the creators of natural firebreaks [...] disappeared, [making] fires become more frequent and their heat is more intense and the damage to the trees is worse,” (Goderie, 2022).
why aurochs, then?
why aurochs, then?
But, why this particular species, you might ask. Well, across Europe, farmland is being abandoned at the rate of “one million hectares every year – marginal land that’s not economically viable to farm any longer […] [and approximately] 30 million hectares [..] of agricultural land, grasslands and semi-natural habitats will no longer be farmed or occupied by 2030,” (Fair, 2024). There are a multitude of reasons for this mass exodus from traditional agricultural lands (another essay, altogether), but what to do with it all is undecided or locally determined. Some abandoned agricultural areas are being left to re-wild by themselves, with smaller herbivores taking the lead and cautious carnivores in tow, like wolves, lynx, fox, etc. ( Van Maanen, 2019), but other lands are being managed by groups who are attempting to actively attract these species and naturally modify the landscape by releasing aurochs or other bovids, or even horses, which open the land and protect the smaller herbivores (Fair, 2024). In Yosemite, predators, like wolves, were reintroduced because that specific niche was un-filled, but in many European areas, predators still exist, and they follow their food source. Bringing in a massive herbivore rings the dinner bell for many other species, whether they’re in the mood for burgers, bugs, or birds
One example of an active auroch program is Rewilding Portugal in partnership with Dutch-established Taurus Foundation. Pedro Prata, in an interview with BBC’s correspondent, Marta Vidal, said the Coa Valley is, “a very degraded landscape. So we are proposing to let this landscape regenerate by rewilding,” (Vidal, 2024). Two herds of tauros (back-bred, aurochs) and Sorraia horses have been released with the intention of recreating natural grazing and movement cycles that will invite other herbivores, the predators that hunt them, and the scavengers that clean up the messes to follow. This could benefit species that are currently at risk or are endangered by providing an environment in which the conditions to thrive are met. Vidal (2024) specifies that “imperial eagles, vultures, Iberian wolves, and ibex and the Iberian lynx – the world’s most endangered wildcat,” could be amongst those supported by this project, and there is already evidence that there is “an increase in roe deer populations in the region,” and “wild boar populations.” This isn’t just happening in a single Portuguese valley, either! Right now, there are programs operating, “in Spain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, and the Netherlands,” (Hadden, 2023).
Photo: Natural History Museum. (n.d.). Aurochs skull. Retrieved October 19, 2025, from https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/from-aurochs-to-burgers.html
So, are they dangerous?
Obviously. Every year, tourists get charged and gouged by North American bison when they approach them like a saddled party pony. Daniel Foidl, an enthusiast for paleo-megafauna (though not a formal scholar in the field) writes, reflecting upon observations made by Julius Caesar, that, ”aurochs likely would have had the potential to become very aggressive and energetic when defending itself, like other wild bovines (Foidl, 2022). Obviously, aurochs, and their modern back-bred variations are dangerous, but more recent breeding programs of Taurus cattle do show temperament differences from earlier, more aggressive Heck cattle (Barkham, 2024). Essentially, giving any cattle their space, learning to ready body language, and learning to read sign of their presence on the land are ways in which the warry (or ignorant) wildland traveler might avoid an unwinnable confrontation. The same goes for human predator interactions, and there are bound to be some of those with increased prey potential. It’s really all part of living with the land, and a necessary byproduct of sustainable land management and ecological restoration.
LOOSE THREADS
You’re probably wondering whether this idea is going to actually work and whether de-extinction is a real. Yes and no.
From a purely philosophical standpoint, no, not really. Once something is gone, that’s the end of it. Aurochs, like any species, “are dynamic living forms that evolve over time and across continents. They cannot be cut and pasted into an existing animal,” (Preston, 2025). Sorry.
What about a genomic standpoint? Even if a species is gone, we might still have remnants of their coded building blocks, their DNA, and those pieces of them could be put back together again or copied (cloned). Sometimes, that means mortaring the cracks with DNA from related species, like with the auroch. The eighth generation Tauros (back bred auroch) now contains over 90% auroch DNA! Other species, often extinct due to the influence of humans, are similarly restored, but without the perfectly preserved genome of an extinct species, even genomic de-extinction is playing paint-by-numbers with a blindfold (Preston, 2025). That doesn’t mean that scientists are unable to restore the function of these species to their unique trophic cascades, but, even there, we’re making a gamble of sorts. Washington writes that, “[o]nce an ecosystem has collapsed, recovery to the original state may take decades or centuries, and may sometimes be impossible. […][W]e would be fools to think we can restore all ecosystems that collapse,” (Washington, 2015). So, to answer the original question; no, we can not bring back an extinct species, but, yes, we can hope to restore its function and large portions of its genetics. As Robertson writes, “[y]ou could say that life is more about the relationships between things than about the things themselves,” (Robertson, 2021).
Aurochs fill a niche in their European ecosystems that has remained empty for four centuries, and humans have not been the best caretakers of the land since. Under our care, soil has been depleted, forests have overgrown with brush, biodiversity has taken a hit, and fires rage.
I say, bring on the beef!
Further Reading
The Aurochs: Born to be Wild
This digitally available and free book provides historical context for the role that the aurochs held as megafauna, and the role they held to humans throughout the bulk of early European history as wild prey, domesticated-ish livestock, and even as gods.
The Aurochs: Born to be Wild specifies the physical and behavioural aspects of this species, the stages of its extinction, its links to modern bovines, and current attempts to back-breed the species and reintroduce it, in a controlled way, to areas within its historical range.
Photo: Goderie, R., Kerkdijk-Otten, H., Helmer, W., & Widstrand, S. (2013). The Aurochs: Born to be Wild [Cover image]. Amsterdam: Roodbont Publishers B.V. Retrieved from https://www.rewildingeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/the-aurochs-born-to-be-wild/index.html
The Breeding-back Blog by Daniel Foidl
Daniel Foidl, an enthusiast for all things extinction, has authored hundreds of posts about extinct species, ranging from Tarpans to Quaggas, but much of his work centers on auroch back-breeding efforts, the various programs that are making an attempt at recapturing auroch genes in living cattle, and the ongoing management and environmental issues related to filling the gap left in the wake of the auroch's extinction. This blog is a collection of peer-reviewed resources as much as it is the documentation of Foidl's personal topic-related excursions and deductions.
Photo: Foidl, D. (2025, June 17). Breeding-back wild beasts: Aurochs, wild horse and quagga [Book cover]. Independently published. Retrieved from https://breedingback.blogspot.com/
Prehistoric aurochs are back from extinction and spreading across Europe. And they could be heading to the UK by James Fair
This article from BBC affiliat website, Discover Wildlife, considers the reintroduction of modern back-bred aurochs (Taurus) as a potential next step in Britain's rewilding future. The article provides background information on the history of aurochs, on the Tauros breeding program, and on the relatively recent release of a small herd in Croatia (including some videos of them!).
Fair specifies where in Brittain the aurochs could be released (on Drumadoon estate on the Isle of Arran), and what ecological impacts are intended by the release.
Photo: van Beek, B. (n.d.). Bull (aurochs-type cattle) on grazing reserve [Photograph]. In Prehistoric aurochs are back from extinction and spreading across Europe. And they could be heading to the UK. Discover Wildlife. Retrieved October 12, 2025, from https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/prehistoric-aurochs-are-back-from-extinction-and-spreading-across-europe-and-they-could-be-heading-to-the-uk
Modern Taurine Cattle Descended from Small Number of Near-Eastern Founders
This short but dense article outlines the genomic and mitocondrial connections between Neolithic aurochs and modern cattle. The article explains that modern cattle were not domesticated all at once, but were subject to interbreeding with wild aurochs over long periods of time and many generations, leading to domesticated breeds that have enhanced milk production and pathogen immunity which were inherited from their wild auroch counterparts.
This resource is jargon heavy, but densely packed with information crucial to understanding the value of the auroch to human cattle domestication attempts.
Photo: van Beek, B. (n.d.). Prehistoric cave painting of an aurochs on the wall of the Lascaux caves, France [Photograph]. Shutterstock. In R. Roween (Ed.), From aurochs to burgers (article). Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved October 15, 2025, from https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/from-aurochs-to-burgers.html
ECOS 40(6): Return of the wolf in Northwestern Europe – A case of spontaneous rewilding
This resource provides an overview of the historical persecution of wolves throughout Europe, with specific attention to Germany's last wolf (1904), and the anti-wolf culture that then spread to North America during early colonization. This resource examines attempts to protect and support populations of Grey Wolf across the European Union as they have begun to independently reestablish territory.
The resource provides information about some of the individual wolves and their packs that have returned to Germany, the environment, issues with farmers and livestock, questions as to responsibility for issues of predation, and considerations for establishing a healthy human-wolf relationship.
Photo: van Maanen, E. (2017). Göldenstedter pack cub, Germany [Photograph]. In van Maanen, E. (2019). Return of the wolf in Northwestern Europe – A case of spontaneous rewilding. ECOS, 40(6). British Association of Nature Conservationists. Retrieved from https://www.ecos.org.uk/ecos-406-return-of-the-wolf-in-northwestern-europe-a-case-of-spontaneous-rewilding/
Tauros release La Maleza | Natural grazing in Albarracín Mountains, Spain | April 2021
It is one thing to read about the back-breeding of an extinct species and to hear about its release on historical territory, but it is another thing altogether to watch the actual animals traverse their land. While this video is not academic, it is documentation of the success of both a rewilding project in Spain, and a back-breeding program from the Netherlands. This video is evidence of international cooperation for the good of the land, its ecosystems, and ecological justice.
Video Below: Rewilding Europe. (2021, April). Tauros release La Maleza | Natural grazing in Albarracín Mountains, Spain | April 2021 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC_GqrdscVg
Breathing New Life Into The Iberian Highlands | Documentary by Emmanuel Rondeau | Rewilding Spain
This short documentary follows the relocation of Przewalski horses to the Iberian Peninsula where they have not lived for thousands of years. This species was nearly extinct, but has been brought back through the dedicated efforts of zoos and other breeding programs.
This video shows a Przewalski horse shot with a tranquilizer, moved via tractor, and placed in a truck for relocation, along with 9 other horses, to Spain.
The release plan for the horses is also detailed in terms of access to land parcels to ensure they can adapt effectively to the environment before they become totally free.
The goal is for all of the different levels of the ecosystem to coexist as they once did, Interviews with key stakeholders demonstrate the local landscape's need for large herbivores to return.
2nd Video Below: Rondeau, E. [Rewilding Spain]. (2024, July 23). Breathing new life into the Iberian Highlands | Documentary by Emmanuel Rondeau | Rewilding Spain [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbZXAY6XLSs
References
Bollongino, R., Burger, J., Powell, A., Mashkour, M., Vigne, J.-D., & Thomas, M. G. (2012). Modern taurine cattle descended from small number of Near-Eastern founders. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 29(9), 2101–2104. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/mss092
Fair, J. (2024, June 17). Prehistoric aurochs are back from extinction and spreading across Europe — and they could be heading to the UK. Discover Wildlife. Retrieved October 3, 2025, from https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/prehistoric-aurochs-are-back-from-extinction-and-spreading-across-europe-and-they-could-be-heading-to-the-uk
Foidl, D. (2022, December 30). How aggressive was the aurochs? The Breeding-back Blog. Retrieved October 3, 2025, from https://breedingback.blogspot.com/2022/
Goderie, R., Helmer, W., Kerkdijk-Otten, H., & Widstrand, S. (2022). The aurochs: Born to be wild – The comeback of a European icon (S. Widstrand, Ed.). Roodbont Publishers. https://www.rewildingeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/publications/the-aurochs-born-to-be-wild/index.html
Hadden, G. (2023, September 29). Rewilding in Spain brings back ancient bovine. The World. Retrieved October 3, 2025, from https://theworld.org/stories/2023/09/29/rewilding-spain-brings-back-ancient-bovine
Heck, H. (1951). The breeding-back of the aurochs. Oryx, 1(3), 117–122. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300035286
Orlando, L. (2015). The first aurochs genome reveals the breeding history of British and European cattle. Genome Biology, 16(1), 225. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-015-0793-z
Ozkurt, T. (n.d.). Aurochs: Back from extinction to rewild Europe. Mossy Earth. Retrieved October 14, 2025, from https://www.mossy.earth/rewilding-knowledge/aurochs-rewilding
Preston, C. (2025, January 9). Despite biotech efforts to revive species, extinction is still forever. Yale Environment 360. Retrieved October 5, 2025, from https://e360.yale.edu/features/de-extinction
Robertson, M. (2021). The biosphere (Chapter 3). In Sustainability: Principles and practice (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Van Maanen, E. (2019, December 7). Return of the wolf in Northwestern Europe – A case of spontaneous rewilding. ECOS, 40(6). Retrieved October 14, 2025, from https://www.ecos.org.uk/ecos-406-return-of-the-wolf-in-northwestern-europe-a-case-of-spontaneous-rewilding/
Vidal, M. (2024, March 12). The rewilding project bringing back an ancient breed of cattle to Portugal. BBC Future. Retrieved October 14, 2025, from https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240312-the-rewilding-project-bringing-back-an-ancient-breed-of-cattle-to-portugal
Washington, Haydn. (2015.) Chapter 5: Ecological sustainability: essential but overlooked. In Demystifying Sustainability: Towards Real Solutions. Routledge.
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