Ecological restoration projects cannot be complete without bringing back those key elements that help shape and reshape wild landscapes. The European aurochs (
Bos p. primigenius) was a large and long-horned wild
bovine herbivore that existed from the most western tip of
Europe until
Siberia in present-day
Russia. Aurochs have played a major role in
human history. They are often depicted in
rock-art, including the famous, well-conserved
cave paintings made by
Cro-Magnon people in the
Lascaux Caves, estimated to be 17,300 years old. Aurochs and other large animals portrayed in
Paleolithic cave art were often hunted for food.
Hunting and
habitat loss caused by
humans, including
agricultural land conversion, caused the aurochs to go extinct in 1627, when the last individual, a female, died in
Poland's
Jaktorów Forest. The aurochs is one of the
keystone species that is missing in Europe. Their
grazing and
browsing patterns, trampling of the soil and
faeces had a profound impact on the
vegetation and
landscapes it inhabited. Grazing results in a greater variety of
plant species, structures and
ecological niches in a landscape that benefit both
biodiversity and
production.
Megaherbivores like the aurochs also controlled
vegetation development. ==Breeding strategy==