Heck Cattle and Wild Horses in Lippeaue

Aurochs, horse, bison, elk and deer were among the species that used to shape the landscape.
Around 1920, the Heck brothers began breeding animals that were similar to the former aurochs by crossing breeds of domestic cattle. The result is Heck cattle that look very similar to the aurochs, but remain much smaller with the bulls being a maximum height of 1.50 m at the withers. The Taurus cattle were created from crossing Heck cattle with old cattle breeds. Their breeding was started in 1996 by the Biological Environmental Protection Working Group in the Soest district in the Lippeaue and in which several breeding groups are now involved. With a shoulder height of 1.65 m and weights of up to 1,400 kg, individual bulls now reach roughly the size of their extinct ancestor.
Today they graze again in some nature reserves.