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Become a Member
Our membership package comes with lots of benefits including a year's unlimited free entry to both our parks!
You can join by post, phone or even today on the website.
Adopt an Animal!
Are you an ardent animal lover? looking for a gift idea?
Why not adopt an animal from either Edinburgh Zoo or Highland Wildlife Park for a whole year!
| Common Name: | Heck cattle | Family: | Bovidae |
| Latin Name: | Bos tuarus | Diet: | Herbivore |
| Type: | Mammal | Habitat: | Grasslands |
| Native To: | Europe | Social Unit: | Group |
| IUCN Red List Status: | N/A |
Heck cattle at Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo has a herd of nine heck cattle: three bulls and six cows. They arrived in September 2009 from Devon.
Where it can be found at Edinburgh Zoo
Our Heck cattle are located in a field at the top of the Zoo hill.
The history of Heck cattle
In the 1920s, two brothers who were both zoo directors in Germany began a breeding programme to try and breed back the aurochs from modern aurochs-derived cattle. Aurochs were a species of huge wild cattle that became extinct in 1627.
Heinz Heck crossed a number of cattle including German Friesian, Hungarian Grey and Scottish Highland in his attempt to restore the aurochs. Lutz Heck did his research in Berlin crossing French and Spanish fighting cattle.
The offspring from both of the breeding programmes were very similar and were named Heck cattle (Bos taurus) after the two brothers.
Today, the number of Heck cattle is steadily increasing and they can be found in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Adopt a Heck cattle A great way to support RZSS – buy it for yourself or as a gift for the animal lover in your life!
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