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Breeding-back
Breeding back is a form of artificial selection by the deliberate selective breeding of domestic (but not exclusively) animals, in an attempt to achieve an animal breed with a phenotype that resembles a wild type ancestor, usually one that has gone extinct. Breeding back is not to be confused with dedomestication. Though bred-back breeds may be very similar to the extinct wild type in phenotype, ecological niche, and to some extent genetics, the gene pool of that wild type was different prior to its extinction. Even the superficial authenticity of a bred-back animal depends on the particular stock used to breed the new lineage. As a result of this, some breeds, like Heck cattle, are at best a vague look-alike of the extinct wild type aurochs, according to the literature.Cis van Vuure: Retracing the Aurochs – History, Morphology and Ecology of an extinct wild Ox. 2005. Background The aim of breeding back programs is to restore the wild traits which may have been unintentio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heck Cattle
The Heck or Munich-Berlin is a German list of cattle breeds, breed or type of domestic cattle. It was bred in the 1920s by Heinz and Lutz Heck in an attempt to breeding back, breed back the extinct aurochs (''Bos primigenius''). Controversy revolves around Methodology of science, methodology and success of the programme. There are considerable differences between Heck cattle and the aurochs in build, height, and body proportions. Furthermore, there are other cattle breeds which resemble their wild ancestors at least as much as Heck cattle.van Vuure, Cis (2005) ''Retracing the Aurochs - History, Morphology and Ecology of an extinct wild Ox''. History Heck cattle originated in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s in an attempt to breeding back, breed back domestic cattle to their ancestral form: the aurochs (''Bos primigenius primigenius'').van Vuure, Cis (2005) Retracing the Aurochs - History, Morphology and Ecology of an extinct wild Ox. In the first years of the Weimar Republic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurochs
The aurochs (''Bos primigenius''; or ; pl.: aurochs or aurochsen) is an extinct species of Bovini, bovine, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocene; it had massive elongated and broad horns that reached in length. The aurochs was part of the Pleistocene megafauna. It probably evolved in Asia and migrated west and north during warm interglacial periods. The oldest-known aurochs fossils date to the Middle Pleistocene. The species had an expansive range spanning from Western Europe and North Africa to the Indian subcontinent and East Asia. The distribution of the aurochs progressively contracted during the Holocene due to habitat loss and hunting, with the last known individual dying in the Jaktorów forest in Poland in 1627. There is a long history of interaction between aurochs and humans, including archaic hominins like Neanderthals. The aurochs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarpan
The tarpan (''Equus ferus ferus'') was a free-ranging horse population of the Eurasian steppe from the 18th to the 20th century. What qualifies as a tarpan is subject to debate; it is unclear whether tarpans were genuine wild horses, feral domestic horses or hybrids. The last individual believed to be a tarpan died in captivity in the Russian Empire in 1909. Beginning in the 1930s, several attempts were made to develop horses that looked like tarpans through selective breeding, called "breeding back" by advocates. The breeds that resulted included the Heck horse, the , and a derivation of the Konik breed, all of which have a primitive appearance, particularly in having the grullo coat colour. Some of these horses are now commercially promoted as "tarpans", although such animals are only domestic breeds and not the wild animal themselves. Name and etymology The name "tarpan" or "tarpani" derives from a Turkic languages, Turkic language (Kazakh language, Kazakh or Kyrgyz language, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the Heredity, heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charles Darwin popularised the term "natural selection", contrasting it with selective breeding, artificial selection, which is intentional, whereas natural selection is not. Genetic diversity, Variation of traits, both Genotype, genotypic and phenotypic, exists within all populations of organisms. However, some traits are more likely to facilitate survival and reproductive success. Thus, these traits are passed the next generation. These traits can also become more Allele frequency, common within a population if the environment that favours these traits remains fixed. If new traits become more favoured due to changes in a specific Ecological niche, niche, microevolution occurs. If new traits become more favoured due to changes in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Konik
The Konik or Polish Konik, , is a Polish list of horse breeds, breed of small horse or pony. There are semi-feral populations in some regions. They are usually dun gene, mouse dun or primitive markings, striped dun. The Bilgoray, , of south-eastern Poland is a sub-type of the breed influenced by Arab horse, Arab and Thoroughbred blood; it is close to extinction. The extinct Sweyki or Schweike sub-type of East Prussia contributed to the development of the Trakehner. The word "konik" means 'small horse'. It may be used in a wider sense to describe the Polish Konik and other similar breeds, among them the Hucul pony of the Carpathian Mountains, the Polesian (horse), Polesian of Belarus and the Žemaitukas of Lithuania. Etymology The Polish word ''konik'' (plural ''koniki'') is the diminutive of ''koń'', the Polish word for "horse" (sometimes confused with ''kuc, kucyk'' meaning "pony"). It means 'small horse'. History The Konik is a Polish horse breed descending from v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TaurOs Project
The Tauros Programme, formerly known as TaurOs Project, is a cooperation between the Dutch foundation Stichting Taurus and universities such as the Wageningen University and Research Centre. It is an international effort to breed a type of cattle that resembles the extinct aurochs, the wild ancestor of domestic cattle. The project largely uses hardy cattle breeds with superficial resemblance to the extinct aurochs. By crossbreeding and selective breeding it tries to establish similarity to the aurochs. The long-term goal is to release these Tauros cattle into rewilding areas. The project was founded in 2008, and the actual breeding program started the following year. Background In line with the wood-pasture hypothesis, herbivorous megafauna are considered important tools of nature conservation in maintaining the biodiversity of open or park-like landscapes without human interference. Therefore, it is planned to reintroduce large game in several reserves to recreate the na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taurus Project
The Taurus Project of the German aims to re-create the extinct aurochs, the wild ancestor of domestic cattle, by cross-breeding Heck cattle (themselves bred in the 1920s and 1930s in an attempt to replicate the aurochs) with aurochs-like cattle, mostly from Southern Europe. Herds of these cross-bred ''Taurus cattle'' have been established in Germany, Denmark, Hungary and Latvia, and are used in conservation of natural landscapes and biodiversity.Marcel Keiffenheim (text), Lin Lambert (pictures)"Das Ur-Viech." Greenpeace Magazin (Germany) 5.03. Margret Bunzel-Drüke [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chianina
The Chianina () is an Italian breed of large white cattle. It was formerly principally a draught breed; it is now raised mainly for beef. It is the largest and one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world. The '' bistecca alla fiorentina'' is produced from its meat. History The Chianina is one of the oldest breeds of cattle. It originates in the area of the Valdichiana, from which it takes its name, and the middle Tiber Valley. Chianina cattle have been raised in the Italian regions of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio for at least 2200 years. Columella, writing about types of oxen in about 55 AD, says "''Umbria vastos et albos'' ..." (VI.I.2), which in the first English translation is "''Umbria'' has such as are huge, and of a white colour". Chianina oxen were the principal source of agricultural power in the area until displaced by mechanisation and the collapse of the '' mezzadria'' system following the Second World War; they were in use in agriculture until at least 1970 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sayaguesa Cattle
The Sayaguesa is an endangered Spanish breed of domestic cattle. It is named for the comarca of Sayago in the province of Zamora, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castilla y León, and is raised almost exclusively in that area. It may also be known as the Zamorana, the Moles de Sayago or the Castellana variedad Sayaguesa. It was traditionally kept mainly for draught work, but is now raised principally for meat. History The Sayaguesa was traditionally kept mainly for draught work; with the mechanisation of agriculture following the Second World War, this use declined. In the 1960s there were successive attempts to improve productive qualities by cross-breeding with Friesian, Braunvieh and Charolais, and later with other breeds. From 1970 the Sayaguesa was included with other regional breeds under the denomination Morenas del Noroeste. In 1997 it achieved separate recognition among the breeds identified by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentació ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lutz Heck
Ludwig Georg Heinrich Heck, called Lutz Heck (23 April 1892 in Berlin, German Empire – 6 April 1983 in Wiesbaden, West Germany) was a German zoologist, animal researcher, animal book author and director of the Berlin Zoological Garden where he succeeded his father in 1932. A member of the Nazi party from 1937, he was a close hunting friend of Hermann Göring, and worked under him. One of his projects was the reconstruction of extinct animals such as the aurochs through cross-breeding of various modern breeds which he thought had parts of the original genetic heritage. Heck cattle and Heck horses are named for the resulting animal breeds. Life and work Lutz was the third child of Margarete and Ludwig Heck (1860–1951), director of Berlin Zoo from 1888 to 1931. He grew up with his brother in the grounds of the Berlin zoo and became very interested in animals and zoology from an early age. He was also influenced by German colonial explorer friends of his father and their ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
