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Uruz Project
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<h2 id="background">Background</h2> <p><a href="/facts/Ecological_restoration/gJ6wT9Gg">Ecological restoration</a> projects cannot be complete without bringing back those key elements that help shape and reshape wild landscapes. The European aurochs (<i>Bos p. primigenius</i>) was a large and long-horned wild <a href="/facts/Bovine/SWIVbaIQ">bovine</a> <a href="/facts/Herbivore/me4YFdQA">herbivore</a> that existed from the most western tip of <a href="/facts/Europe/DTAtrKfh">Europe</a> until <a href="/facts/Siberia/oaCoPEjF">Siberia</a> in present-day <a href="/facts/Russia/jfkCwyxn">Russia</a>. Aurochs have played a major role in <a href="/facts/Human_history/uB3yXt4H">human history</a>. They are often depicted in <a href="/facts/Rock-art/xHd4nVIV">rock-art</a>, including the famous, well-conserved <a href="/facts/Cave_paintings/yv2BehGH">cave paintings</a> made by <a href="/facts/Cro-Magnon/duWdhDVA">Cro-Magnon</a> people in the <a href="/facts/Lascaux_Caves/LApfzaG4">Lascaux Caves</a>, estimated to be 17,300 years old. Aurochs and other large animals portrayed in <a href="/facts/Paleolithic/I48SMHo5">Paleolithic</a> cave art were often hunted for food. <a href="/facts/Hunting/z1XhJdB2">Hunting</a> and <a href="/facts/Habitat_loss/pyPMkBCY">habitat loss</a> caused by <a href="/facts/Humans/rlcTENsr">humans</a>, including <a href="/facts/Agricultural/TGztqzJs">agricultural</a> land conversion, caused the aurochs to go extinct in 1627, when the last individual, a female, died in <a href="/facts/Poland/eXJ7fd0D">Poland</a>’s <a href="/facts/Jaktor%C3%B3w/GzQVuVBy">Jaktorów</a> Forest.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <p>The aurochs is one of the <a href="/facts/Keystone_species/JE5sSY3X">keystone species</a> that is missing in Europe. Their <a href="/facts/Grazing/nxF45P2c">grazing</a> and <a href="/facts/Browsing/cXxs5jsD">browsing</a> patterns, trampling of the soil and <a href="/facts/Faeces/r9HDKB8G">faeces</a> had a profound impact on the <a href="/facts/Vegetation/nAHr9kjk">vegetation</a> and <a href="/facts/Landscapes/pU9HneR0">landscapes</a> it inhabited. Grazing results in a greater variety of <a href="/facts/Plant_species/2xkcTn2d">plant species</a>, structures and <a href="/facts/Ecological_niches/YnhNkL2e">ecological niches</a> in a landscape that benefit both <a href="/facts/Biodiversity/GruakEzs">biodiversity</a> and <a href="/facts/Primary_production/14RzcF5E">production</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Megaherbivores/8PukHC5A">Megaherbivores</a> like the aurochs also controlled <a href="/facts/Vegetation/nAHr9kjk">vegetation</a> development.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="breeding-strategy">Breeding strategy</h2> <p>The Uruz Project aims to breed an aurochs-like breed of cattle from a limited number of carefully selected primitive cattle breeds with known Aurochs characteristics. The project uses <a href="/facts/Sayaguesa_Cattle/wB6mbC9u">Sayaguesa cattle</a>, <a href="/facts/Maremmana/DKpb06Pf">Maremmana primitiva</a> or <a href="/facts/Hungarian_grey_cattle/xoLj0rYV">Hungarian grey cattle</a>, <a href="/facts/Chianina/c9hFwEL3">Chianina</a> and <a href="/facts/Ankole-Watusi_(cattle)/oltN0BPb">Watusi</a>. The genome of the Aurochs has been completely reconstructed and serves as the baseline for the reconstruction of the Aurochs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Breeding_back/d0QT01n0">Breeding back</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/De-extinction/vgHRND7m">De-extinction</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Aurochs/HnJHxa12">Breeding of aurochs-like cattle</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Tauros_Programme/fTnvsQKC">Tauros Programme</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150116173809/http://www.truenaturefoundation.org/wildlife/aurochs">Aurochs</a> at the True Nature Foundation</li> <li><a href="http://longnow.org/">Long Now Foundation</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/truenaturefoundation">Uruz Project</a> on <a href="/facts/Facebook_(identifier)/0IhXFR6u">Facebook</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Uruz Project". True Nature Foundation. October 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2014. <a href="https://truenaturefoundation.org/species-restoration/true-nature-foundation-starts-international-project-to-bring-back-the-aurochs/" target="_blank">https://truenaturefoundation.org/species-restoration/true-nature-foundation-starts-international-project-to-bring-back-the-aurochs/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"TEDxDeExtinction". TED. <a href="http://www.ted.com/tedx/events/7650" target="_blank">http://www.ted.com/tedx/events/7650</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"De-Extinction : Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life". National Geographic. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130310053346/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/deextinction" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130310053346/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/deextinction</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Edwards, CJ; Magee DA, Park SD, McGettigan PA, Lohan AJ, Murphy A, Finlay EK, Shapiro B, Chamberlain AT, Richards MB, Bradley DG, Loftus BJ, MacHugh DE.; Park, S. D.; McGettigan, P. A.; Lohan, A. J.; Murphy, A; Finlay, E. K.; Shapiro, B; Chamberlain, A. T.; Richards, M. B.; Bradley, D. G.; Loftus, B. J.; Machugh, D. E. (2010). "A complete mitochondrial genome sequence from a mesolithic wild aurochs (Bos primigenius)". PLOS ONE. 5 (2): e9255. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...5.9255E. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009255. PMC 2822870. PMID 20174668.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2822870" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2822870</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Tikhonov, A. (30 June 2008). "Bos primigenius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN. <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/136721/0" target="_blank">http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/136721/0</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Iain J. Gordon; Herbert H. T. Prins (2008). The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing. Springer. pp. 263–292. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-72422-3_10. ISBN 978-3-540-72421-6. <a href="978-3-540-72421-6" target="_blank">978-3-540-72421-6</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Jill, JL (2014). "Ecological impacts of the late Quaternary megaherbivore extinctions". The New Phytologist. 201 (4): 1163–1169. doi:10.1111/nph.12576. PMID 24649488. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Edwards, CJ; Magee DA, Park SD, McGettigan PA, Lohan AJ, Murphy A, Finlay EK, Shapiro B, Chamberlain AT, Richards MB, Bradley DG, Loftus BJ, MacHugh DE.; Park, S. D.; McGettigan, P. A.; Lohan, A. J.; Murphy, A; Finlay, E. K.; Shapiro, B; Chamberlain, A. T.; Richards, M. B.; Bradley, D. G.; Loftus, B. J.; Machugh, D. E. (2010). "A complete mitochondrial genome sequence from a mesolithic wild aurochs (Bos primigenius)". PLOS ONE. 5 (2): e9255. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...5.9255E. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009255. PMC 2822870. PMID 20174668.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2822870" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2822870</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Stephen D.E. Park, David E. MacHugh; David A. Magee, Paul A. McGettigan, Matthew Teasdale, Ceiridwen J. Edwards, Amanda J. Lohan, Alison Murphy, Yuan Liu, Emma K. Finlay, Steven G. Schroeder, Daniel G. Bradley, Tad S. Sonstegard, Brendan J. Loftus (January 11–16, 2013). "A Complete Nuclear Genome Sequence from the Extinct Eurasian Wild Aurochs (Bos primigenius)". Plant and Animal Genome XXI Conference, San Diego, CA. Retrieved 11 May 2014.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) <a href="https://pag.confex.com/pag/xxi/webprogram/Paper7121.html" target="_blank">https://pag.confex.com/pag/xxi/webprogram/Paper7121.html</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>