John
04-23-2009, 06:51 PM
Cattle brought back from extinction by Hitler have achieved what he never could - by invading England.
A herd of aurochs, legendary beasts seen as symbols of Nazi might, is grazing in Devon, according to The Sun.
It is the first time they have set hoof here in 4,000 years when the last ones to roam Britain were killed.
The cattle, prized for their 6ft horns, were hunted to extinction in the rest of Europe four centuries ago.
Hitler ordered his top genetics experts to "resurrect" them because they featured heavily in German mythology.
Using domesticated breeds descended from the wild animals, they were "bred back" just before the Second World War.
Dairy farmer Derek Gow, who has imported nine cows and four bulls to his farm at Lifton, Devon, said: "The aurochs were wild bulls.
"Young men hunted them as preparation for battle, and also for their 6ft horns which were used as drinking vessels and war horns."
His specimens, from Belgium, are officially called Heck cattle, the surname of the geneticist brothers who led the experiments.
A herd of aurochs, legendary beasts seen as symbols of Nazi might, is grazing in Devon, according to The Sun.
It is the first time they have set hoof here in 4,000 years when the last ones to roam Britain were killed.
The cattle, prized for their 6ft horns, were hunted to extinction in the rest of Europe four centuries ago.
Hitler ordered his top genetics experts to "resurrect" them because they featured heavily in German mythology.
Using domesticated breeds descended from the wild animals, they were "bred back" just before the Second World War.
Dairy farmer Derek Gow, who has imported nine cows and four bulls to his farm at Lifton, Devon, said: "The aurochs were wild bulls.
"Young men hunted them as preparation for battle, and also for their 6ft horns which were used as drinking vessels and war horns."
His specimens, from Belgium, are officially called Heck cattle, the surname of the geneticist brothers who led the experiments.