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The quest to revive extinct Aurochs to restore ancient lands

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Rewilding and restoration of land often rely on the reintroduction of species. But what happens when what you want to reintroduce no longer exists? What if the animal in question is not only locally extinct, but gone for good? Yes, this might sound like the plot of Jurassic Park. But in real life this is actually happening in the case of the Aurochs ( Bos primigenius ). This wild ancestor of all modern cattle has not been seen since the last individual died in 1627 , in today’s Poland. Aurochs have been deep within the human psyche for as long as there have been humans, as attested by their prominence in cave art. However, the advent of agriculture and domestication put the magnificent animal on a path to extinction. So why bring the Aurochs back today and how? And what is the likely outcome? What is left of Aurochs, besides their depiction in cave paintings, are some fossil remains and some descriptions in the historical record. “Their strength and speed are extraordinary,” w
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Ancient African herders had lasting ecological impact on grazed lands

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Ancient animal herders added to the ecological richness and diversity of the African savanna thousands of years ago -- an effect that persists to the present day, a new study finds. The herders' practice of penning their cattle, goats and sheep at night created nutrient-rich grassy glades, called hotspots, that still attract wildlife and have increased habitat diversity in the region, researchers report in the journal Nature. Typically, the African savanna is scrubby, with small trees and shrubs and lots of bare soil, said University of Illinois anthropology professor Stanley Ambrose, who led the new research with Fiona Marshall of Washington University in St. Louis. The herding hotspots appear on the landscape today as dense, grassy areas several acres in diameter, he said. "When Stone Age herders came to eastern Africa 3,500 years ago, they changed vegetation patterns for the better, rather than degrading the savanna, as is often believed," Ambrose said. &q
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99-million-year-old beetle trapped in amber served as pollinator to evergreen cycads

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Flowering plants are well known for their special relationship to the insects and other animals that serve as their pollinators. But, before the rise of angiosperms, another group of unusual evergreen gymnosperms, known as cycads, may have been the first insect-pollinated plants. Now, researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on August 16 have uncovered the earliest definitive fossil evidence of that intimate relationship between cycads and insects. The discovery came in the form of an ancient boganiid beetle preserved in Burmese amber for an estimated 99 million years along with grains of cycad pollen. The beetle also shows special adaptations, including mandibular patches, for the transport of cycad pollen. "Boganiid beetles have been ancient pollinators for cycads since the Age of Cycads and Dinosaurs," says Chenyang Cai, now a research fellow at the University of Bristol. "Our find indicates a probable ancient origin of beetle pollination of
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