In the 1920s two German zoo directors the brothers Geneticist Heinz(above) and Lutz Heck attempted to breed the aurochs "back into existence". from the domestic cattle that were their descendants. Their plan was based on the concept that a species is not extinct as long as all its genes are still present in a living population. The result is the breed called Heck Cattle, "Recreated Aurochs", or "Heck Aurochs", which bears an incomplete resemblance to what is known about the physiology of the wild aurochs. What would have been an amazing experiment at "recreation", is tarnished by the recently documented facts that Heinz Heck was a Nazi sympathizer. His motives and agenda for his great genetic work will be forever in question.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Interesting photo essay of Dr. Heinz Hecks genetic program to recreat the Auroch--1952 Munich Zoo
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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3 comments:
In the 1950s Brookfield Zoo exhibited Tarpan replicas, label as such and credit given the the Hecks. About the same time Cincinnati took a short-cut and just mislabelled a Scotch Highland calf as an Auroch.
Jim,
I have an 8X10 someplace that I can't find of the Tarpan at the Bronx zoo with the Director. I don't think that was the first or last time Cincinnati "took a short-cut" and mislabeled an exhibit.
Wade
Hello, I am Daniel Foidl, the autor of the Breeding-back blog www.breedingback.blogspot.com. My blog is, among other subjects, on Heck cattle a lot, and I am especially keen on the history of Heck cattle. Therefore, I would like to know what is the source for those old photographs of Heck cattle and how old are they? Thank you, Daniel.
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