The Aurochs

European Wilderness

The Tauros Programme started as an initiative of the Taurus foundation ( Stichting Taurus ), a private Dutch organization using feral cattle and horses in nature management and natural grazing schemes. Up to 2008 the foundation was using the hardiest breeds at that moment, serving their ecological role at best, such as Scottish highland cattle and Exmoor ponies. However, with regard to cattle, none of the current breeds is the optimal grazer for wilderness areas, especially not with big predators around such as wolves, in the bigger European wilderness areas. So since 2008 the Taurus foundation has been working on a better adapted breed, better suited for its current and future role.By far the best choice for European wild nature would undoubtedly be the Aurochs. The animal has survived for more than 250.000 years in Europe. However the Aurochs has gone extinct. In ecological terms it only recently (in 1627) died out, because of habitat loss and overhunting. The Aurochs was an impressive animal, a natural icon for Europe. The myth of the Greek god Zeus seducing the virgin Europa in the form of an Aurochs bull is at the base of Europe. And very important: the Aurochs also played a key role for Europe's biodiversity, greatly impacting on the vegetation where it lived. Hundreds of plant and animal species developed in co-evolution with the vast herds of these Europe's heaviest land mammals and other large grazers.In the near future European nature will be more and more interconnected in an Ecological network. Rewilding Europe is an initiative aiming at the rebuilding of the 'Natural heart of Europe'. Its goal is to 'rewild' ten large European areas. A rebuild natural heart of Europe needs its key role players. The Aurochs was one of them, in fact one of the most important. So for complete rewilded areas a credible substitute will be needed. That's were the Tauros Programme comes in. The programme is aiming at a near 100 % substitute for the Aurochs: the Tauros, a bovine breed that will be indistinguishable from the former Aurochs. Now is the time to make a choice for a truly wild bovine that once again can roam around in the (new) European wilderness.