scientists say they are well on the way to resurrecting an ancient species from woolly mammoths to passenger pigeons
we thought we needed a grazer that is fully self - sufficient in case of big predators ... and could do the job of grazing big wild areas , " says goderie . "
founder and ecologist ronald goderie believes that by 2025 , the seventh generation of neo - aurochs will be as close as possible to the originals .
the auroch roamed the grassy plains of europe for 250,000 years until it died out in poland in 1627 , and adolf hitler 's followers tried to breed a similar beast as part of their aryan mythology .
in conjunction with the rewilding europe group , the tauros , bred from a number of current species with auroch ancestry , have been released into areas of spain , portugal , croatia , the czech republic and romania , where they have had to contend with wolves and other predators .
for thousands of years the aurochs were the largest land mammals in europe , arguing that the aurochs ' huge appetite for grazing provided a natural " gardening service " that maintained landscapes and created the conditions for other species to thrive .
speed breeding ecologist ronald goderie launched the tauros programme in 2008 , seeking to address failing ecosystems .