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Key Information

Aurochs

Species Bos primigenius
Diet Herbivore
Height (to shoulder) 4 ft 5 inches to 5 ft 11 inches
Weight 1,540 to 3,310 lb
Lifespan About 20 years
Classification Mammalia > Artiodactyla > Bovinae
Conservation Status Extinct
Habitat Forests, woodlands and grasslands

Learning Point

  • The Aurochs was an ancient form of cattle that is now extinct, and may have been the wild ancestor of the domestic cattle we have today and may have been one of the most massive herbivores in the places it existed when it was alive.

Project

  • Draw an Aurochs grazing in Roman times.
  • Overview
  • X-Ray
Aurochs
Jaap Rouwenhorst (photograph) DFoidl (GIMP modifications), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Skeleton of Aurochs
Ivan Iofrida, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Location

Places Europe, North Africa and Asia

Fun Facts

  • Both “aur” and “ur” are Germanic or Celtic words meaning “wild ox“.
  • They were shaped with stronger front legs and the front part of the torso compared to the back, different to modern cattle which are more equally balanced.
  • They were used as fighting or battle animals by the Romans.
  • The reasons for their extinction include hunting and loss of habitat, the least known auroch dying in 1627.

Past Lessons

75 April 19, 2023 (North America)
No Past Lessons

Upcoming Lessons

No Upcoming Lessons