Europäischer Auerochs. Bos Urus. Boeuf Auerochs. / Der Bison. Bos Bison. Boeuf Bison

Title

Europäischer Auerochs. Bos Urus. Boeuf Auerochs. / Der Bison. Bos Bison. Boeuf Bison

Description

Illustration of a bison and an aurochs.

ca. 1840

Artist

Brodtmann (1787-1862)

Karl Joseph-Ioseph Brodtmann was an accomplished Swiss artist and lithographer, as well as a printmaker, publisher and bookseller who worked in Zurich and Schaffhausen. Brodtmann's natural history lithographs include Heinrich Rudolf Schinz's works on reptiles and birds, published in the early 1830s. Brodtmann also produced natural history lithographs, as Naturhistorische Bilder Gallerie aus dem Thierreiche.

Historical Description

The European aurochs (Aurochs; historically also referred to as Bos urus) was the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. Once widespread across Europe, Asia, and North Africa, it became extinct due to overhunting and habitat loss; the last known individual died in Poland in 1627. Larger and more powerful than modern cattle, the aurochs played an important role in prehistoric art and mythology. The European bison, or wisent (Wisent; historically often called Bos bison), is the largest living land mammal in Europe. After becoming extinct in the wild in the early twentieth century, the species was successfully restored through captive breeding and reintroduction programs. Today, free-ranging populations once again inhabit several European countries and are regarded as a major conservation success.