La maleza
parque de fauna
SIERRA DE ALBARRACÍN
Scientific name: Bos taurus primigenius
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Other names: aurochs
The aurochs is the ancestor of all cattle and, therefore, the most important animal in human history.
Through a breeding program called the “Tauros Programme,” cattle breeds that still resemble aurochs and carry the same DNA are combined to restore an animal that looks, behaves, and feeds like the aurochs. This new animal is the Tauros.
The aurochs was an impressive animal. With a robust build and large horns, it was well equipped to live in the wild. Males (left) stood over 180 cm tall, and females (right) around 160 cm. A bull could weigh more than 1,000 kg. Today’s Tauros are almost as large as their ancestors.
The Tauros is now in its fifth generation, increasingly showing wild behavior and ecological impact, playing its role as an architect of the European landscape by restoring wildlife and the interaction between flora and fauna.
Tauros must bring back the work of their ancestors, the aurochs, and be the driving force to rewild Europe!
Tauro o Uro 2.0
A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION
The aurochs is the ancestor of all cattle and, therefore, the most important animal in human history.
Primitive cattle lived in Europe and Asia for hundreds of thousands of years. Aurochs grazed from southern Scandinavia to North Africa, from the United Kingdom to Central Asia, and they were also present throughout Spain.
It was a key species for European biodiversity. Hundreds of plant and animal species could only survive by following in the footsteps of those enormous grazing herds, much as still happens in the African savannas. It was a large, powerful wild animal, but ultimately it could not withstand a deadly mix of threats: the efficient hunting techniques of our ancestors and habitat loss, as its habitat was taken over by farm animals.
Through a breeding program known as the “Tauros Programme,” cattle breeds that still resemble aurochs and carry the same DNA are combined to recreate an animal that looks, behaves, and feeds like the aurochs. This new animal is the Tauros.
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What were aurochs like?
The aurochs was an impressive animal. With a robust build and large horns, it was well equipped to live in the wild. Males (left) stood over 180 cm tall, and females (right) around 160 cm. A bull could weigh more than 1,000 kg. Today’s Tauros are almost as large as their ancestors.
The “TAURUS PROGRAMME” of the Taurus Foundation
Its goal is to bring back the aurochs as a functional wild animal by breeding the closest living relatives of the original aurochs.
The aurochs was an impressive wild animal that roamed Europe in huge herds and helped shape and maintain European nature. The aim is to restore this animal’s role as a wild species and make it part of Europe’s ecosystem again, returning it to its place as an icon of European wildlife. With this purpose, the Tauros Programme was launched in 2008 in the Netherlands.
The aurochs may be extinct, but its genes live on in all our domestic cattle. In some wild areas of Europe, cattle breeds still exist that retain many characteristics of primitive cattle. Although these breeds have also been domesticated, their physique has not changed much.
The Scientific Advisory Committee of the Tauros Programme (made up of experts in genetics, ecology, molecular biology, archaeology, archaeozoology, history, and experts in breeding and ancient livestock) identified the most promising breeds for the breeding programme.
Genetics plays an important role in the programme. We now know the complete genome of the original cattle, which allows us to genetically select the programme’s offspring for similarities with primitive cattle and thus speed up the breeding programme. But we already know that the breeds we use closely resemble the original aurochs.
THE TAUROS: A KEY SPECIES
Like its ancestor, the Tauros plays an important role in the landscape. Through grazing and trampling, it opens up vegetation for many other animal and plant species that need more light or open ground to grow. Even its droppings attract many insects and benefit plants. By feeding on small shrubs, it also helps reduce the risk of wildfires.
The Tauros is now in its fifth generation, increasingly showing wild behavior and having a growing impact on the ecosystem, playing its role as an architect of the European landscape by restoring wildlife and the interaction between flora and fauna.
Tauros must revive the work of their ancestors, the aurochs, and be the driving force to rewild Europe!
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