Depiction of auroch - "Augsburg depiction of an Auerochs." (1927)Polish scientists plan to bring back the long extinct auroch – an ancestor to domestic cattle - back to life with a little help from laboratory mice and rabbits.
The auroch, or urus, survived in Europe till the 17th century. The last one, a female, died of natural causes in 1627 in central Poland. Its skull is preserved in a museum in Stockholm.
The aurochs were impressive quarry animals with a shoulder height exceeding 2 meters and weighing around 1,000 kg.
The aurochs recreation project has been masterminded by scholars from the Poznan-based Human Genetics Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences. They want to breed the aurochs’ cell from its DNA preserved to this day.
“First though, we need mice and rabbits to find out if the DNA can function properly,” says Professor Ryszard Slomski. If the experiments are successful, the cells will be cloned and cross-bred with animal species most closely related to the aurochs.
But some specialists are worried whether there is room for the aurochs in Poland today. Its traditional habitats have been taken over by the European bison and their peaceful co-existence is unlikely. Professor Slomski is unperturbed. His team have already received enquiries from the Netherlands, which would gladly welcome the aurochs.
The auroch is not the only extinct animal fuelling the imagination of scientists worldwide. The list of animals awaiting recreation is long and includes: the mammoth, the saber-toothed tiger, the Tasmanian wolf, the dodo and even the Neanderthal man. (kk/pg)