Heck Cattle and Konik Horse Grazing
Heck Cattle and Konik Horse Grazing
In 2006 three large paddocks were created in the central area of the former military training grounds, where today Heck cattle and koniks are kept. The goal of having these large herbivores graze here is to maintain the extremely valuable heaths and lean turf and to stop their advancing ruderalisation and shrub growth.
Heck cattle are a relatively young cattle breed. They were given their name by the brothers Heinz and Lutz Heck, who were zoo directors in Berlin and Munich in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time they began crossbreeding different cattle to create a breed that closely matched the characteristics of the globally extinct aurochs. This is also referred to as "breeding back". Heck cattle are well suited to being outside all year round and are ideal for use in landscape management.
Heck cattle: cow and calf
Koniks are a primitive breed of horse that originated in Eastern Europe (mainly Poland) and is closely related to the also extinct Tarpan horse (European wild horse). The name "konik" comes from the Polish language and means "pony, small horse". These horses are also very robust and ideally suited for being kept outside all year round.
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