Tauros cattle rewilding project in Denmark

September 08, 2025

key points from this story:

• Tauros cattle released in Denmark
• Project aims to mimic extinct aurochs
• Release supports rewilding and biodiversity
• Large herbivores act as keystone species
• Canadian bison offer regeneration lessons
• Restoring nature may mean using old methods

I will admit I am not exactly sure if this is an agriculture topic or not, but it is most definitely cattle adjacent and interesting. I stumbled upon a recent Copenhagen Post – amid the usual Facebook detritus of cartoons, the latest Trump foible, and cute pet pics – a few of our guinea pigs admittedly – an announcement that 30 Tauros cattle will be released into Saksfjed Wilderness in Lolland, Denmark. Why is that of interest? Well, it’s a project that hopes the cattle mimic what Aurochs once did in terms of the land.

Aurochs which existed some 7,000 years ago, were a large breed of cattle known for creating the very habitats that several endangered species depend on. From the newspaper article posted, “now, a breeding programme backed by the Hempel Foundation, has selectively bred six of the world's oldest cattle breeds to bring thirty Tauros oxen to life, without the use of genetic manipulation. The oxen, released into the 800-hectare Saksfjed Wilderness in southern Lolland, closely resemble the Aurochs—a species now represented only in museums and cave art—both physically and genetically.