Monday, 18 January 2010

Aurochs To Be Bred Back From Extinction

Aurochs were an ancient species of cattle of immense size and with sweeping horns that were immortalised in the cave paintings of prehistoric Europeans.  The last Auroch died over 400 years ago and scientistists are now planning to breed these iconic animals back from extinction.

Italian scientists are hoping to use selective breeding and genetic knowledge to recreate these huge animals that weighed in at around 2,200lb and stood about six and a half feet at the shoulder.  For the first time a map of the Auroch's genome has been created, so that they know precisely what type of animal they are trying to create.

To read the whole news article on bringing back this ancient breed of cattle from extinction click here

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