Cattle – Britain’s ecological

engineersengineers

Stephen Hall

• Where did our cattle come from?

• What were their wild ancestors

like?

• What effect have cattle had on

the environment?

• What is the future for cattle in

conservation?

Evolution of

bovines• Cattle and their relatives (124 species including antelopes, sheep, goats) are grouped goats) are grouped in the family Bovidae

• These are part of the suborder Ruminantia, animals which chew the cud

A and B

are

possible

precursor

forms,

long long

extinct

The ruminants radiated in step with the evolution of grasses

The radiation of the aurochs

• First aurochs remains are very recent – only 1.5 – 2 million years ago

• This coincided with the Pleistocene period, in which the global climate alternated between warm and cool – and included the Ice Ageswarm and cool – and included the Ice Ages

• Extensive dry grasslands appeared in many areas

• Aurochs seems to have evolved in India and spread from there – Indian aurochs may be effectively a distinct species

Probable peak distribution area of

aurochs

From van Vuure: “Retracing the aurochs”

Cattle and humans

Aurochs – ancestor of

domesticated cattle

• Aurochs was domesticated 10,000 years ago in near East / west Asia, India, China and (probably) north Africa

• First farmers came to Britain 5000 years ago and brought cattle with themand brought cattle with them

• These cattle were very small – through selective breeding

• No evidence the aurochs was ever domesticated in Britain though wild aurochsen might possibly have mated with domesticated cattle

Reasons for studying aurochs

behaviour

• May lead to better understanding of cattle behaviour and of human-cattle relationships

• May (possibly) give clues as to how • May (possibly) give clues as to how aurochs was domesticated

• May help with planning “authentic” ecosystem conservation – what was role of aurochs in British ecosystem before farming began?

Demise of the aurochs

• Extinct in Britain 1500 BC (about 1500 years after first farmers arrived)

• Described by Julius Caesar in Germany but he and others often confused it with European bison (which still exists)

Aurochs finally died out AD

1627 in a forest reserve in

Poland

Aurochs European bison (wisent)

What was the natural (pre-human)

forest cover of Britain like?

• Pre-Neolithic era, 7,000 years ago

• The last glaciers had receded 10,000

years ago and Britain became an island

8,500 years ago.8,500 years ago.

• The first farmers (Neolithic people) arrived

5,000 years ago

• What was the scenery like in that rather

brief pre-farming era?

Was tree cover continuous?

• Cotswolds rhyme:

– A squirrel can hop

from Swell to Stow

– Without resting his foot

or wetting his toeor wetting his toe

• And from Lancashire:

– From Birchen Haye to

Hilbre

– A squirrel might hop

from tree to tree

From Fauna Britannica (S. Buczacki)

The traditional idea• The general idea has formed that the dominant vegetation in Britain will be closed-canopy forest

• Well expressed by Oliver Rackham 1976: “It is supposed that if Britain had been left “It is supposed that if Britain had been left alone by man the “natural” vegetation would nearly everywhere be oak-dominated forest.”

• However this is not asserted by most botanists nowadays

Frans Vera’s hypothesis (2000)

Proposes that 7,000 years ago the landscape for

central and western European lowlands was “half

open”, and park-like (photo: Grimsthorpe)

Large herbivores

• Vera argues that large herbivores were an

essential driving force while others say fire

and windthrow would have been important

• Is the aurochs a candidate as an • Is the aurochs a candidate as an

ecological engineer?

Ecological engineers – species that

determine the form an environment takes

(beavers a possible example)

From A. Kitchener: “Beavers”

Deducing the ecology of the

aurochs• We have information on where in Britain aurochs lived – their archaeological remains have Ordnance Survey map references (called “find squares”)

• The general form of the landscape nowadays is probably broadly similar to that of the landscape

• The general form of the landscape nowadays is probably broadly similar to that of the landscape soon after the glaciers receded for the last time & the aurochs and other species recolonised

• If we look at what the landscapes of these find squares are like today, that should tell us something about the habitat (and, from that, the ecology) of the aurochs

An “experimental” approach

• Our prehistoric species included beaver, elk,

wolf, bear, red deer, roe deer, aurochs

• By focussing on the find sites of the 6 species of

prehistoric Britain that aren’t globally extinct, we prehistoric Britain that aren’t globally extinct, we

can deduce their habitats – if these deductions

make sense, then our deductions about the

aurochs would carry credibility

• Analyse Ordnance Survey 1 km map squares to

characterise “find squares” of the seven species

SJG Hall (2008) Ecography 31, 187

Aurochs

• Current question –was it a woodland animal?

• Julius Caesar said it was – but cattle undoubtedly need lots of grass, more than will grow in lots of grass, more than will grow in tree shade

• Much more likely it lived on floodplains and meadows, but lack of direct evidence either way

• May have been chased into woods by farmers

Available archaeological remainsfrom Yalden (1999)* and pers. comms.

Before last ice

age (Devensian)

Last ice age and

more recent

No age

assigned

Totals

Aurochs 17 75 96 188

Beaver 7 61 0 68

Brown bear 18 68 10 96Brown bear 18 68 10 96

Elk 2 7 18 27

Roe deer 0 28 18 46

Red deer 0 47 26 73

Wolf 25 68 8 101

*Yalden, D.W. (1999) The history of British mammals. Poyser, London

Examples of find squares - 1

• Find square is to

NE of symbol

• SK 0954 (near

Dove Dale, Dove Dale,

Derbyshire)

• Species found -

Brown bear &

wolf

Examples of find squares - 2

• Find square is to NE

of symbol

• TL 5467 (Cambs.

fens)fens)

• Species found -

Aurochs

Examples of find squares - 3

• Find square is to NE

of symbol

• TA 1656 (S. of

Bridlington)Bridlington)

• Species found -

Beaver & wolf

Map features considered

1. Numerical features – height above sea

level, number of contour lines and

distance between highest & lowest

contour lines (indicates flatness)contour lines (indicates flatness)

2. Landscape features – presence/absence

of cliff, lake, woodland

Results –how the species differed in the altitudes

of the sites where their remains were found

Height above

sea level (m)

Distance between highest

& lowest contours (m)

Beaver 29 10

Aurochs 30 10

Elk 50 20Elk 50 20

Roe deer 50 20

Red deer 55 20

Wolf 61 40

Brown bear 76 46

Statistical test shows there are very probably (at least 95% chance)

real effects of species on these variables

Landscape features

• For each species, how do find squares

compare with other map squares in the

vicinity?

• For each species, compare each find • For each species, compare each find

square with a randomly chosen, nearby

“control square”.

Comparison is particularly clear for

this find square:

• Find square is to NE

of symbol

• Species found -

Brown bear & wolfBrown bear & wolf

• Compared with any

nearby control

square, find square

has steep slopes and

caves

Beaver 68 find

squares – 13

have a lake

Only 5/68 control

squares have a

lake

A tendency for beaver

finds to be in areas

which today have a lake

Brown

bear

26/96 find

squares have

a cliff

Only 9/96 control

squares have a

cliff

A tendency for bear

finds to be in areas

which today have a cliff

Wolf 18/101 find

squares have

a cliff

Only 4/101

control squares

have a cliff

A tendency for wolf finds

to be in areas which

today have a cliff

Roe &

red deer,

elk

No differences between find and control squares

Aurochs 84/188 find

squares have

woodland

107/188 control

squares have

woodland

A tendency for aurochs

finds to be in areas

which today do not have

woodland

For all these comparisons there is at least a 95% chance these

are real effects

Conclusions – 1 – lakes, cliffs and

woodland• Map squares with beaver finds are significantly more likely to have a lake today, than the control squares

• Similar for brown bear and wolf, in relation to cliff

These results are as would be predictedThese results are as would be predicted

• Aurochs is significantly more likely to have been found in areas which lack woodland today

• In Britain today, woodland tends to be on the more infertile ground

Suggests aurochs was a creature of the more fertile areas

Direct comparisons between find squares

and control squares for aurochs

Find square -

median

Control

square -

median

Statistical

test

Height above sea level (m) 30 50 99% chance

this is a real

effecteffect

Distance between highest &

lowest contours (m)

10 20 94% chance

this is a real

effect

Implies aurochsen tended to live in the lower-lying, flatter

parts of the landscape

Conclusions – 2 – height above

sea level of find squares

• The rank order for the non-extinct species is as would be predicted from knowledge of present-day

Beaver 29 m

Aurochs 30 m

Elk 50 m

present-day populations

• Suggests the aurochswas a creature of low-lying areas while the red deer was more upland

Roe deer 50 m

Red deer 55 m

Wolf 61 m

Brown bear 76 m

Conclusions – 3 – flatness of find

squares

• The rank order for the non-extinct species is as would be predicted from knowledge of present-day populations

Beaver 10 m

Aurochs 10 m

Elk 20 m

populations

• Suggests the aurochs was a creature of flat areas

• Supported by the comparison of aurochs find and control squares

Roe deer 20 m

Red deer 20 m

Wolf 40 m

Brown bear 46 m

Ecological findings

• Ecologies (at the landscape scale) of prehistoric animals, predicted from present-day landscape features, are consistent with what is observed today

• Suggests overall approach is valid• Suggests overall approach is valid

• Suggests aurochsen lived in flat, low-lying, highly fertile areas like floodplains – and that it was not a creature of the more upland woodland

• The main herbivores of the more upland woodlands were probably red deer

Implications

• Regarding the Vera hypothesis – this

suggests the aurochs may have shaped

the low-lying floodplain environment, but

probably not the more upland areasprobably not the more upland areas

• However, a finding that the aurochs was a

creature of highly fertile, open areas does

have some implications for its behavioural

ecology

Behavioural implications (1)

Aurochs would have had strong herd structure

(open ground, high plant productivity)

Would have come into conflict early with humans

becausebecause

• (a) river valleys are easy routes for hunting

parties

• (b) river valleys are desirable for farming

• (c) adaptation to rich localised food resources

would have predisposed aurochs to crop raiding

• Inhabiting highly productive ground, aurochsen probably had high breeding rate

• Cows may well have calved every year

• Stimulus for weaning may have been birth of next calf

Behavioural implications

(speculative)

next calf

• May imply strong selection for cow-neonate imprinting in order to suppress cow’s bond to last year’s calf

• A strong imprinting tendency might have made it easier for humans to tame neonatal calves as a first step in domestication

Back to the wildCan modern cattle simulate the aurochs?

Heck cattle

• Heinz and Lutz Heck, in Germany in 1920s and 1930s, crossed various European breeds and selected primarily for colour and horn shape

• The aim was to “re-create” the aurochs

• Heck cattle are kept in small numbers today • Heck cattle are kept in small numbers today notably in Germany, France & the Netherlands

• In 2001 there were 597 registered Heck cattle in Belgium, Germany & France plus (in 2004) about 660 unregistered animals in Dutch nature reserves

Oostvaardersplassen (Lelystad, Netherlands)

Heck cattle and Konik horses

Large herbivores have certainly helped to make

Oostvaardersplassen a more biodiverse place

• Live in 134 hectares of parkland near Scottish border.

• Ancient history – maybe dates back to when Chillingham Park was enclosed (probably around 1225). Certainly were there in late 1600s.

• Long history of ownership by Earls of Tankerville.

Chillingham Wild White Cattle

• Long history of ownership by Earls of Tankerville.

• Park and cattle now belong to Chillingham Wild Cattle Association, sheep grazing tenancy acquired in 2005 & sheep removed

• Many theories and speculations about origins of the herd – probably they are relict medieval cattle.

• History of inbreeding (supported by genetic studies)

Where are the Chillingham Wild

White Cattle?

Inhabit approx. 330 acres

in north Northumberland

(94 at present).

Also a reserve herd in NE Also a reserve herd in NE

Scotland, plus semen in

store (embryo collection

is planned)

www.chillinghamwildcattle.com

Associated with Chillingham Castle – also famous woodcut

by Thomas Bewick, paintings by Landseer

Line depicts boundary

of current cattle park

1979

• Mature bull – 300-320 kg in winter; cow 280 kg (i.e. small)

• “Old-fashioned” conformation – relatively long legs & short body

• All carry horns; all are white with red ears & some spotting on face, neck & shoulders

• Herd receives hay in winter but otherwise is unmanaged

• Total number 94 – highest ever

• Sex ratio –usually more usually more females, but nowadays approx. 1:1 (don’t know why)

• Cows usually don’t

conceive till 3 or 4

years old but there

have been some

conceptions at 2

years of age

• Early conceptions • Early conceptions

may be getting more

frequent

Another park herd - Vaynol cattle

• Trace back to herd at Blair Atholl which was founded in early 1800s and sold in 1834

• Some went to Kilmory House in Argyll & were House in Argyll & were mated with white Highland cattle

• 1870s & 1880s – herd went to Vaynol (Faenol) near Caernarvon

In Vaynol Park, before 1914

Potted recent history of Vaynol

cattle• At Vaynol, herd ran with bulls from the Cadzow herd of White Park cattle

• At KIlmory, there had been crossing with Ayrshire and Indian (zebu) cattle

• 1980 – Vaynol estate sold, herd transferred to • 1980 – Vaynol estate sold, herd transferred to Shugborough Park farm in Staffordshire (comprised 3 young bulls and 12 females)

• 1989 – Vaynol cattle recognised by Rare Breeds Survival Trust as a separate breed

• 1989 – herd to Temple Newsam, Leeds

• 1992 – some animals back to Vaynol

• 2009 – some animals to Lincolnshire!

British herds of white, horned park

cattle (dates of dissolution in brackets)

According to

Bewick (1789)

Probably also in

existence in 1800

Established 19th

century

Chillingham Cadzow Park Dynevor

Chartley Leigh Court (1806) Vaynol

Wollaton (1820) Lyrick Hall (1810) Dalkeith (1838)

Gisburne (1859) Ardrossan (1820) Kilmory (1838)

Lyme Park (1885) Blair Atholl (1834) Taymouth (1842)

Cally Park (1846)

Lamphey (1918)

Swona, Orkney

Swona cattle – Britain’s unknown

wild herd

• People left the island in 1974, tended the cattle there till 1978

• Aberdeen Angus x ShorthornShorthorn

• Cattle have been left to run wild since then

• Numbers have been as high as 33, currently about 14

• Swona is a Special

Protection Area

(terns)

• Cattle grazing is • Cattle grazing is

important to maintain

bird value

Rewilding or extensification?

• Animal welfare concerns probably mean full “rewilding” of cattle won’t be accepted in UK

• Heck cattle – totally unlike Dutch conception of cattle, but public unlike Dutch conception of cattle, but public opinion there does not favour them having a wild status

• Chillingham – regarded in some respects as wild (e.g. no eartags) and in others as husbanded stock

Choice of breed for ecosystem

management• No current breed is closer than any other to the extinct aurochs

• Organisations are free to keep any breed they like but Heck cattle do not have any special practical or educational valuepractical or educational value

• Heck cattle may in fact be harmful educationally as they might be taken to imply that extinction is not a terminal condition!

• Using a minority breed (Galloway, Highland) or crossbred that is derived from minority breeds (most deserving case the Blue-Grey) would serve a genetic conservation purpose as well as achieving conservation objectives

Conclusions

• The aurochs was probably an animal of fertile

lands like flood plains and was not primarily a

woodland animal

• Our present-day cattle retain the capacity to live • Our present-day cattle retain the capacity to live

as wild animals

• Choice of breed for ecosystem management –

almost certainly “rewilding” is not an option in

Britain, for legal reasons and because none of

our breeds are an authentic choice