Breeding back

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Breeding back is an attempt to assemble the genes of an extinct subspecies or domesticated breed, which may still be present in the larger gene pool of the overall species or other interbreedable species.

One animal this has been attempted with is the Utonagan dog in an attempt to recreate the 'wolf-look' without actually cross breeding with wolves. Other examples of Breeding Back include that of the aurochs, an extinct forerunner of cattle. The product of these attempts is the Heck cattle. Another prominent breeding back effort is the Quagga Project to bring back the extinct subspecies of the Plains Zebra called Quagga. The Heck horse, a phenotypic copy of the tarpan has also been produced, although it lacks the upright manes.

Breeding back is controversial, especially claims that an extinct animal has been recreated. Phenotypical reconstruction (similar appearance) does not assure behavioral similarity. For some of the species that are being bred back, questions remain about the ecological niche, hardiness, and disease resistance of the original species. For instance, the aurochs died out almost 400 years ago and the records kept cannot definitively answer some of these questions.

Back breeding is also sometimes alleged to occur in feral animals. It is not certain if "primitive" feral breeds (such as of sheep or pigs) are so only because their ancestor were of primitive domestic breeds or if they have had a kind of back breeding. This could also be a behavioral, hardiness, and resistance back-breeding instead of a phenotypical one.

References

• Koene, P., & Gremmen, B. (2001). Genetics of dedomestication in large herbivores. In 35th ISAE Conference, Davis, California, 2001 (pp. 68-68).