‘The aurochs is fearless and large-horned’, according to a 9thcentury Anglo-Saxon rune verse from North Germany. Old Germanic legends, runeverses, language reconstruction, archaeological finds, medieval descriptions,genetic analyses and modern cattle make up the sources for an overall pictureof the aurochs (Bos primigenius). As a wild animal, this impressive mammallived in large areas of Asia, Europe and North Africa, during the last oneand a half million years. Nowadays some thousand cattle types have left, bredfrom the aurochs in the course of millennia. The original aurochs became extinct.For fifteen years, Wageningen researcher Cis van Vuure has worked on its morphology,ecology and habitat. The project, in which this monograph was realized, hasbeen financed and supervised by Wageningen University (Wageningen, the Netherlands)and the Ministry of the Flemish Community (Brussels, Belgium).
In his book ‘Retracing the aurochs’, for both specialists andnon-specialists, Cis van Vuure sheds light on all conceivable approaches ofthis mammal. The aurochs originates from India and Pakistan and spread to Europeand North Africa during Pleistocene and Holocene periods, lived along the NileRiver and even arrived in China. Early human hunters immortalized this imposingbovine species in cave paintings at Lascaux and Altamira, 20,000 years ago.Of a more recent date are aurochs drawings from Central Siberia and PharaonicEgypt. From Mesopotamia hunting depictions are known in which the Assyrianking Assurnassirpal II captured many aurochs, during the 9th century BC. InEurope, the extinction of the aurochs, caused by hunting and ousting, advancedfrom southwest to northeast. The last population lived in a royal forest reservein Central Poland near the village of Jaktorów. The last specimen, acow, died in 1627.
The aurochs bull had an impressive appearance with its shoulder height of 160-180cm., and large dirty white horns with a dark tip, a colour comparable withthat in Spanish fighting cattle. The horns could reach a length of more thanone meter. By means of cave paintings, medieval pictures and writings, andgenetics (of modern cattle) the coat colour of the aurochs could be reconstructed.The bull was blackish brown to black with a lighter dorsal stripe; the smallercow (ca. 150 cm) was reddish brown, as was the young calf.
From ca. 7,000 BC onward, man domesticated the aurochs during a gradual process,parallel to sheep and goat. Not only many cattle breeds originated, but alsoa dichotomy in bovine animals came into being, that is zebu- (humped) and taurine(humpless) cattle. During this selection process the initially large differencesbetween bull and cow (sexual dimorphism) diminished, shoulder height decreased,milk yield increased and diverse colours and horn forms emerged.
In its natural environment, the aurochs mainly ate grasses in spring and summer,in autumn acorns as well and in winter furthermore branches and possibly treebark. In the forested landscape the aurochs especially searched for food inextensive wet forests and marshes along rivers, lakes and shores. The formernickname of the aurochs (‘morstapa’ – Anglo-Saxon for ‘marshwalker’) points to this preferred way of living. The population densityof aurochs probably strongly varied, depending on the openness of the forest.Aurochs themselves, like other large herbivores, had little impact on foreststructure and openness of the landscape; this conclusion was drawn from studiesin palynology, archaeoentomology and Roman writings, and from the situationin the Great Wilderness in former East Prussia.
In spite of its large size, in Europe predators like wolf and lion corneredthe aurochs. Especially young and diseased animals fell prey to them; full-grownbulls were able to kill many a wolf by kicking or goring, as was stated inOld Polish writings. Lynx, bear and fox were especially after young calves.
In his richly illustrated book Cis van Vuure gives a picture of the aurochsas it has never been described before. He paints a picture of this intriguingmammal as complete as possible and in that is why this multidisciplinary approachrules out large gaps. Moreover, in his description and evaluation of the breeding-backexperiment by the Heck brothers, the author discusses the value and possibilitiesof breeding-back the aurochs from still existing cattle types, and their potentialuse and role in nature conservation.
In the book an extensive list of References and an Index are included.
NOTE FOR THE EDITOR
For information contact PENSOFT Publishers (Sofia, Bulgaria), tel. +359-2-967-40-70,fax +359-2-967-40-71, e-mail pensoft@mbox.infotel.bg.
For pictures in high resolution contact Jac Niessen, Wageningen Universityand Research Centre, tel. +31 317 485003, email jac.niessen@wur.nl.
For information and interviews (in English or German) contact Mr. Cis van Vuure(author), tel. +31 317 416187, email t.vanvuure@chello.nl