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Why do these semi-Aurochs look different from each other? I was under the impression that the Aurochs was a single, distinct type.Their DNA still exists in modern cows, it change lost and differed over time. Modern cattle are around 90% aurochs genetically. Aurochs aren't extinct in the same way mammoths are. Mammoths were hunted to extinction whereas aurochs were more or less transformed into cattle through the process of domestication.
Domestication refers to a process where you selectively breed animals for certain traits and then over the course of a number of generations, they become genetically different enough from their original parent species that they're now considered a different species.
The traits that were selected for aurochs when breeding them to turn them into cows were traits such as docility, size, feed efficiency, and so on. After aurochs with these traits were bred over the course of many generations, then cattle were born. The process of selectively breeding them continues to this day.
The logic is that if they can reverse the process of domestication by selectively breeding for wild traits (i.e. aggression, size, color, horn size, etc.) then they can bring back the aurochs in its original shape and character to live in the wild alongside predators.
Cow = domesticated aurochs
Dog = domesticated wolf (or some extinct sister species to the wolf)
Goat = domesticated wild goat
Horse = domesticated tarpan
Cat = domesticated African wild cat
Pig = domesticated boar
Sheep = domesticated mouflon/urial/argali
Llama = domesticated guanaco
Alpaca = domesticated vicuna
And so on.
For most of these animals that I listed, the wild form and the domesticated form exist. For the cow and horse though, their wild ancestors are extinct and that's why there are these experiments to bring them back.
Many of these animals that were domesticated more recently return to their wild forms after being left out in the wold for a while. Britain's wild boar population consists mainly of pigs that ended up running away.
See this: https://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/o..._revert_t.html
Same applies to cats, they aren't even a 100% domesticated species yet.
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