The Aurochs

The aurochs is the ancestor of our domestic cattle breeds. Originally from India, it populated the whole Near East, Europe and North Africa. Its habitat was the open forests, where it subsisted on grasses, acorns and foliage. Full-grown bulls reached a body-length of up to 3.10 metres and weighed up to 1 000 kilograms. Through intensive hunting and deforestation, the aurochs became extinct at the beginning of the 17th century. The last remaining animal died in Poland in 1627.