Tuesday 10 June 2014

Tauros Project promo video

Thanks to a follower of my blog, I came across a promo video for the Tauros cattle at Keent, Netherlands, which I already knew from a presentation by Ronald Goderi. I didn't know it was on youtube before, so I post it here. 

This is the best glimpse at the Tauros cattle I ever saw and I am very happy about what I see. Please don't ask me about the identity of all the individuals in the video, I don't want to speculate too much, but here's a list of animals I am pretty sure of: 

Beginning: Maronesa cow 
0:05 Maremmana-Pajuna cross (Manolo Uno), Highland cross cow (the light one) 
0:15-0:23 Maremmana, Limia and perhaps Pajuna cows
0:24-0:33 Sayaguesa-Tudanca cows, Limia bull plus their offspring
0:34-1:01 Limia bulls fighting, plus young perhaps Maronesa bull
1:07 Sayaguesa cow
1:08 Maremmana and Pajuna bulls fighting 
1:19 Pajuna bull humping a Limia cow 

I like some of the individuals very much. Especially those fighting Limia bulls look very cool and aurochs-like, about as good as Taurus bulls. The Sayaguesa and Sayaguesa x Limia cows are very nice too; the latter one have offspring already. I wonder what they look like now. I am not very fond of the Maremmana. Both the cows and the bull look comparably massive, and their horns are not as long and thick as they should be to increase the horn length of the other breeds. Plus, they add that greyish colour and upright horns, features that are very annoying in Heck cattle and will be in Tauros cattle too. And apparently they are not that really large breed that I believed them to be. Personally, I would exchange those Maremmana for some Watussi and Chianina cows (ok, Chianina would add dilution modifiers too, but they would be the only really large breed in that assemble). 

What I appreciate very much is that the bulls obviously have to fight for their mating rights, which is something I always propagate for breeding back-projects. It's an element of natural selection parallel the selective breeding. 

7 comments:

  1. Great video! Very interesting to see from that very short clip, that the maremmana, although it has big horns, is at a clear disadvantage in the fight, due to the shape of its horns (too upright).

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  2. Why wildebeests didnt evolutionary develop an auerochs-like horn-style? -The bulls have quite the same fighting-technique like cattle: more pushing than butting (like bison or sheep). So why are wildebeests horns so upright and not forward oriented like auerochses? Ideas anyone?

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  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rHYChkVK7I This is a video of fighting wildebeest-bulls.

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  4. here another (better) video with fighting wildebeest-bulls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RkPXV3vUKk
    And one with african buffalos (also pushing-fighting-style, but completly non-auerochs-like horn-shape): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4981f-H9P8
    -why? I have no idea *argh*

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    Replies
    1. You have a good question here, and the answer is a simple evolutionary one: there are multiple ways to rome, and genetic drift also can produce changes that are not necessarily functional unless they are not harmful. That's what I would say.

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  5. Actually the music is from the 1968 song "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf.
    Which I believe inspired the name of the book.

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    Replies
    1. Of course, everybody knows that, I just think it is so over-used in movies, ads, trailers and promovideos that I can't stand it anymore, and I think a lot of people feel so too. But nevermind, that's not what this post was about.

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