Can you bring an extinct species back to life? Italian scientists are setting out to use genes and selective breeding to recreate a huge cow as big as a rhinoceros that was wiped out almost 400 years ago.
The aurochs stood 2m high at the shoulder, taller than a grown man. Herds of them roamed the forests of Europe and Asia in prehistoric times, and they are depicted in ancient cave paintings with shaggy coats and huge sweeping horns. They terrified even Julius Caesar, who described them as “a little less than elephants in size”.
For tribesmen, catching one of these fearsome beasts was a show of courage and they were hunted to extinction, with the last female aurochs dying in Poland in 1627.
Adolf Hitler thought that the auroch sounded like the perfect Aryan cow, and had a dream to resurrect it in the Nazi-conquered forests of Eastern Europe. He employed two Berlin zoologist brothers, Lutz and Heinz Heck, to cross-breed cattle from Hungary, Scotland, Spain and France. The result was Heck cattle, a few of which are still around. Experts say that they resemble aurochs but are nowhere near as big.
Now, though, the auroch may be on its way back. A team of scientists in Italy have used DNA samples of preserved auroch bones to map its genomes. They hope to “back breed” different species of cattle to recreate it. The team leader, Donato Matassino, said that large auroch cows would produce more milk and yield more meat per acre.
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If these enormous prehistoric beasts do make a reappearance, it will be quite a job keeping them under control. “Aurochs were significantly larger than any cattle in existence and they would be potentially dangerous,” says Dr Claire Barber from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. “To look after their teeth and feet you might have to sedate them with dart guns. And you wouldn’t want to try to milk one.”
The comeback creatures
? In 2001 a flightless stick insect that survived the dinosaur era, but was thought to have been wiped out by rats 80 years ago, was found on a tiny volcanic rock off Australia. It was said to look like a walking sausage.
? Last year, more than 400 years after they died out in Britain, Norwegian beavers were reintroduced to the wild in a trial programme in England. They were fitted with monitoring devices to see how they got on.
? Ever heard of a Gilbert’s potoroo? It’s a rat-like kangaroo the size of a rabbit. Everyone thought that they had died out a century ago until one showed up in Australia. It is the country’s most endangered animal, with only 30-40 left in the wild.