A Heck bull

Heck Cattle, also called reconstructed aurochs, are a hardy breed of cattle (Bos taurus) often referred to by its promoters by the name of "aurochs". The aurochs was an extinct ancestor of modern cattle. Binomial name Subspecies Bos primigenius primigenius   (Bojanus, 1827) Bos primigenius namadicus   (Falconer, 1859) Bos primigenius mauretanicus   (Thomas, 1881) See Ur (rune) for the rune. ... For general information about the genus, including other species of cattle, see Bos. ...

Development

Heck cattle were developed in the early 20th century by the Heck brothers in Germany in an attempt to breed back modern cattle to their presumed ancestral form, the aurochs, Bos primigenius primigenius. Heinz Heck working at the Hellabrunn Zoological Gardens in Munich began creating the Heck breed in about 1920. Lutz Heck, director of the Berlin Zoological Gardens, began extensive breeding programs supported by the Nazis during World War II ^[1] to bring back the auroch. The reconstructed aurochs fit into the Nazi propaganda drive to create an idyllic history of the Aryan nation^{[citation needed]}. Breeding back is an attempt to assemble the genes of an extinct subspecies or domesticated breed, which may still be present in the larger gene pool of the overall species or other interbreedable species. ... Heinz Heck (22 January 1894 - 5 March 1982, born in Berlin and died in Munich) was a German biologist and director of zoo in Munich. ... Tierpark Hellabrunn is the name of the zoological garden in the Bavarian capital Munich. ... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ... Ludwig George Heinrich Heck, called Lutz Heck (23 April 1892 - 6 April 1983, born and died in Berlin) was a German zoologist, animal researcher, an animal book author and a director of zoo. ... Elephant Gate The Zoologischer Garten Berlin (Berlin zoological garden) is one of the biggest zoos in Germany and with the largest number of species of the world. ... Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal         Nazism or National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the ideology and practices of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) under Adolf Hitler. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... 1967 Chinese propaganda poster from the Cultural Revolution. ... Aryan (/eÉ™rjÉ™n/ or /ɑːrjÉ™n/, Sanskrit: ) is a Sanskrit and Avestan word meaning noble/spiritual one. ...

Heinz Heck crossed Hungarian Grey Cattle, Scottish Highland, Murnau-Werdenfels, Angeln, German Friesian, Podolic cattle and Corsican breeds. In Berlin, Lutz Heck crossed Spanish and French fighting cattle with other breeds. The resulting animals’ configurations were largely similar. The Berlin breed was lost in the aftermath of World War II, so modern Heck cattle are descended from the Hellabrunn breed. At the end of the 20th century, other so-called primitive breeds were crossbred with Heck cattle to come closer to the aim of creating a cattle breed that resembles the extinct aurochs in external appearance. Hungarian Grey cattle in Hortobágy Puszta, the first and largest national park of Hungary Hungarian Grey cattle in Berlin Zoo (in the middle cow, on the right bull) The Hungarian Grey Cattle or Hungarian Steppe Cattle (in Hungarian: Magyar szürke szarvasmarha or Magyar alföldi) is an old... Highland cattle Highland cattle ox Highland cattle (also known as longhorn, Hairy Coo or Heelan Coo) are an ancient Scottish breed of beef cattle with long horns and shaggy pelts. ... Murnau-Werdenfels Cattle are an old, robust dairy breed from Upper Bavaria, the southernmost part of Germany. ... Danish Red cattle, also known as Red Danish or Red Dane, are a major dairy breed in northern Europe. ...

Characteristics

A typical Heck bull should be at least 1.6 m (5.25 ft) high and a cow 1.4 m (4.60 ft), with weight 600 to 900 kg (1,300 to 2,000 lb). Heck cattle are twenty to thirty centimeters shorter than the aurochs they were bred to resemble. However, cross-breeding efforts continue to increase the size and weight of the breed, particularly in Germany. This article is about the unit of length. ... Kg redirects here. ...

The Heck bulls were not much larger than the bull of most breeds of domestic cattle, while wild aurochs bulls are believed to have often exceeded 1000 kilograms (2,200 lb), half the size of a rhinoceros. So the African Watusi cattle were then brought into the herd. The result was a somewhat larger animal, but it also caused infertility among the cows, a sign of the genetic divergence that had occurred between these populations of Bos over the millennia. Heck cattle were first bred outside of a zoo in 1980. There were 88 registered at that time. Continued crossbreeding with these animals resolved the infertility in the cows. For other uses, see Rhinoceros (disambiguation). ... Ankole Cattle at Woburn Safari Park Ankole-Watusi cattle at Disneys Animal Kingdom Lodge Ankole-Watusi at the Natural Bridge Caverns Wildlife Park in Texas. ...

Distribution

There are about 2000 Heck cattle in Europe and few elsewhere.

In Oostvaardersplassen in Flevoland near Lelystad (Netherlands), there are about 600 Heck cattle freely roaming without human interference^[2]. Other cattle are at the Falkenthaler Rieselfelder near Berlin. There are also Heck Cattle at the Nesseaue nature reserve near Jena, Thuringia and at the Grubenfelder Leonie nature reseve in Auerbach, Bavaria. There were about 100 registered in France in 2000. The Oostvaarderplassen is a nature reserve in the Netherlands. ... Flevoland is a province of the Netherlands. ... Lelystad ( â–¶ (help· info)) is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands, and it is the capital of the province of Flevoland. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... , For other uses, see Jena (disambiguation). ... The Free State of Thuringia (German: Freistaat Thüringen) is located in central Germany and is considered one of the smaller of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), with an area of 16,200 km² and 2. ... Auerbach was originally a German-language generic toponym coming from Aue  + Bach, meaning floodmeadow brook, that is, a brook running through a flood-meadow. The name is used for many places and people. ... For other uses, see Bavaria (disambiguation). ...

Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 2441 KB)My own picture. ... Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 2096 KB)My own picture. ...

Controversy

Even though trying to bring back extinct species may seem commendable, "breeding back" is a controversial procedure in the scientific community (see also Quagga). The general consensus among biologists today is that the Hecks' original methodology used to "recreate" the aurochs was flawed: once a genetic lineage is gone, it cannot be "bred back". Some go as far as to consider it outright deceitful. For example, Professor Z. Pucek of the Bialowieza Nature Preserve has characterized the Heck cattle as the "biggest scientific swindle of the 20th Century"^{[citation needed]}. Professor Pucek has devoted his life to the conservation of the surviving native Wisent (European Bison) which is seen by some as competition to Heck cattle development. Breeding back is an attempt to assemble the genes of an extinct subspecies or domesticated breed, which may still be present in the larger gene pool of the overall species or other interbreedable species. ... For other uses, see Quagga (disambiguation). ... A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of organisms. ... Białowieża Primaeval Forest, known as Belaveskaya Pushcha (Белавеская пушча) or Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus and Puszcza Białowieska in Poland, is an ancient virginal forest straddling the border between Belarus and Poland, located 70 km north of Brest. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) A wisent (Żubr) The Wisent or European Bison (Bison bonasus) (pronounced ) is a bison species and the heaviest land animal in Europe. ...

On the other hand, Heck cattle are considered by many the most suitable cattle breed for low intensity grazing systems in certain types of nature reserves, due to their ruggedness and lack of need for human care. Heck cattle today are propagated in some places to fulfill the role of extinct megafauna in the ecosystem. However, there is uncertainty as to what ecological niche the aurochs itself filled. Dr Frans Vera claims that the aurochs lived in open parkland and supports their inclusion in nature reserve management. Cis van Vuure, however, in his book, Retracing the Aurochs: History, Morphology and Ecology of an Extinct Wild Ox suggests that the aurochs dwelled in dense forests and marshes while the Wisent dwelled in the open landscape. Wisent supporters claim that Heck cattle landscape management is a public relations ploy in order to illegitimately garner support for Heck cattle at the expense of a genuine native species, the Wisent. It has been suggested that Charismatic megafauna be merged into this article or section. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) A wisent (Żubr) The Wisent or European Bison (Bison bonasus) (pronounced ) is a bison species and the heaviest land animal in Europe. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) A wisent (Żubr) The Wisent or European Bison (Bison bonasus) (pronounced ) is a bison species and the heaviest land animal in Europe. ...

Breed organizations

• SIERDA – Syndicat International pour l’Elevage, la Reconnaissance et le Développement de l’Aurochs-reconstitué (French: International Union for the Breeding, Reintroduction and Development of Heck Cattle)

See also

• Heck horse

A Heck horse in Sababurg, Germany (2004) Heck horse in Haselünne, Germany (2004) The Heck horse is a breed of horse that resembles the extinct tarpan. ...

References

• International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 2003. Opinion 2027 (Case 3010). Usage of 17 specific names based on wild species which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic animals (Lepidoptera, Osteichthyes, Mammalia): conserved. Bull.Zool.Nomencl., 60:81-84.
• Vuure, C. van. 2005. Retracing the Aurochs: History, Morphology and Ecology of an Extinct Wild Ox. Pensoft Publishers. Sofia-Moscow.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Heck cattle

• EAAP breed description
• Modern German Heck cattle (in German)

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