Are Aurochs Still Alive?

The aurochs is the ancestor of all cattle and thereby the most important animal in the history of mankind. The keystone species for many European ecosystems was hunted to its extinction in 1627. However, its DNA is still alive and distributed among a number of the ancient original cattle breeds.

Can we bring aurochs back?

For some years now, a group of ecologists and scientists have been working to bring the aurochs back. ... Experts are trying to expedite the program by constraining the size of the breeding herds, but they estimate it will take at least ten years to get to a genetic profile akin to the aurochs.

Is there a modern equivalent aurochs?

The problem is that the aurochs, Bos primigenius, has been extinct since 1627. ... Together they're “back-breeding” modern cattle to take on aurochs-like traits — like menacing horns and stripes along their backs — and then introducing herds of these doppelganger herbivores into landscapes where aurochs once roamed.