Taurus cattle can either be regarded as a separate breed or as a Heck cattle variety. I like to regard Taurus cattle as an advanced Heck cattle variety because of the breeding history (taking good Heck cattle and supplementing them with suited breeds in order to improve their aurochs-likeness), and because there is a continuum between Heck cattle and Taurus cattle. The Lippeaue cattle is surely most advanced as the Heck cattle percentage is lowest there (as low as 25%), but there are other herds which have a higher portion from the stem breed and, more importantly, there are many Heck herds that have influence from Taurus cattle, as more and more Heck cattle breeders incorporate Taurus individuals into their herds because they are larger and look better. So that there is a continuum between both cattle types. Because of that, the 2009 Weideleitfaden of the ABU states that it will probably be impossible to differentiate between Heck and Taurus cattle on the long-term sight (as Taurus cattle have more aurochs characteristics than Heck cattle, this is a good thing of course). It is my impression that the Taurus percentage in the Heck cattle population in general is rising and becomes more widespread.
While doing google searches, I came across a bull that shows this phenomenon perfectly. It is the breeding bull at the Steveraue in Olfen, Germany. It is unquestionably a Heck bull, but it has Taurus characteristics such as having more forwards-facing horns, a higher hump and is higher on the legs than old-school Heck bulls.
Dear Mr Foidl,
ReplyDeleteafter your again very interesting contributions in the Breading-Back-Blog of 14. and 16. February 2029 I would like to send you some information and considerations about the Camargue cattle. Unfortunately, the comment block on your page is too small and my English knowledge is not sufficient. Under which address could I send you the mail? You can reach me at rowinkle@web.de.
With kind regards,
Rolf Winkler
Why don't you put your info on wikipedia, where it would be available for everyone, not just for mr Foidl?
DeleteHey Daniel, I know this is kind of unrelated, but do you think that selective breeding could be used on other mammals who have extinct European relatives? Obviously I don't think you could breed a woolly mammoth from an elephant, but for example, is there reason to believe that we could get something like a cave lion from Asian/African lions, or something like a cave bear from brown bears? Thanks, and sorry for the long comment.
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