Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Check out KiwiCo for engaging projects that inspire the next generation of crafters, scientists, and engineers! Go to kiwico.com/bizarrebeasts and use code BIZARREBEASTS to get 50% off your first monthly crate.
Cows have the triple honor of being one of the most successful mammals of all time, one of the most recent, and one of the most devastating. This is the story of how we created an unstoppable extinction machine, and how one of the first species that cows helped wipe out was their own wild ancestor, the aurochs.
Support the show by getting an Endling pin: https://complexly.store/products/endlings-hourglass-pin
And the Endlings Bandana: https://complexly.store/products/bizarre-beasts-endlings-bandana-complexly
Endlings portrait illustrations are by Zoe Keller. You can find out more about her and her work here: zoekeller.com
Wondering if we used AI to create graphics (or thumbnails or scripts!) for this video? Nope! Every Complexly video is lovingly, painstakingly human-made.
Follow us on socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/bizarrebeastsshow
Facebook: facebook.com/BizarreBeastsShow
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bizarrebeastsshow.bsky.social
#BizarreBeasts #cattle #aurochs
-----
Sources:
hakaimagazine.com/features/the-republic-of-cows
https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/documents/2017-09/GLO_Full_Report_low_res.pdf
nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2022/november/destruction-forests-and-grasslands-biggest-cause-of-biodiversity-loss.html
gfr.wri.org/forest-extent-indicators/deforestation-agriculture#how-much-forest-has-been-replaced-by-cattle
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969715303697
biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/food/cattle_grazing_statement.html
mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/11/4526
academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/64/6/487/289974?login=true&guestAccessKey=
https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/deforestation/#:~:text=In%20Australia%2C%20deforestation%20is%20primarily,key%20areas%20such%20as%20Queensland
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-inventory-report-2020-volume-2.pdf
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2204892120
researchgate.net/publication/358094285_Cattle_breeds_-_contemporary_views_on_their_origin_and_criteria_for_classification_a_review
https://jornada.nmsu.edu/files/bibliography/15-010.pdf
https://journals.pan.pl/Content/99149/PDF/9.pdf
cetnotorolidia.org/opencms_wf/opencms/system/modules/es.jcyl.ita.site.torodelidia/elements/galleries/galeria_downloads/The_origin_of_Bos.pdf
nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14137-6
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1040618209003000
nature.com/articles/s41598-025-26274-9
https://www.hnp.hu/en/szervezeti-egyseg/tourism/oldal/breeding-of-reconstructed-aurochs
nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14137-6
https://share.google/8E4Nd8inlDHuLIWAf
nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08112-6#Sec1
atlasobscura.com/articles/where-did-aurochs-live
pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1402183111
https://agro.icm.edu.pl/agro/element/bwmeta1.element.agro-edba7823-f859-480f-ab93-cc618b0e4ab1
queensu.ca/eventscalendar/calendar/events/bader-chair-northern-baroque-art-history-lecture-last-aurochs-extinction-artistic
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440318304989
theextinctions.com/articles-1/ns0atubs8qd60o16itraa69zhw7e0w
cambridge.org/core/journals/animal-genetic-resources-resources-genetiques-animales-recursos-geneticos-animales/article/abs/history-of-the-aurochs-bos-taurus-primigenius-in-poland/73E5642DC0324EC98B52B34C57F9AE92
bbc.com/future/article/20240312-the-rewilding-project-bringing-back-an-ancient-breed-of-cattle-to-portugal
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10873014
------
Images:
docs.google.com/document/d/11LXlNThj2tgmD-nDJRZd3dv77l3DN3INMMT0VlNOOJk/edit?tab=t.0
Check out KiwiCo for engaging projects that inspire the next generation of crafters, scientists, and engineers! Go to kiwico.com/bizarrebeasts and use code BIZARREBEASTS to get 50% off your first monthly crate.
Cows have the triple honor of being one of the most successful mammals of all time, one of the most recent, and one of the most devastating. This is the story of how we created an unstoppable extinction machine, and how one of the first species that cows helped wipe out was their own wild ancestor, the aurochs.
Support the show by getting an Endling pin: https://complexly.store/products/endlings-hourglass-pin
And the Endlings Bandana: https://complexly.store/products/bizarre-beasts-endlings-bandana-complexly
Endlings portrait illustrations are by Zoe Keller. You can find out more about her and her work here: zoekeller.com
Wondering if we used AI to create graphics (or thumbnails or scripts!) for this video? Nope! Every Complexly video is lovingly, painstakingly human-made.
Follow us on socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/bizarrebeastsshow
Facebook: facebook.com/BizarreBeastsShow
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bizarrebeastsshow.bsky.social
#BizarreBeasts #cattle #aurochs
-----
Sources:
hakaimagazine.com/features/the-republic-of-cows
https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/documents/2017-09/GLO_Full_Report_low_res.pdf
nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2022/november/destruction-forests-and-grasslands-biggest-cause-of-biodiversity-loss.html
gfr.wri.org/forest-extent-indicators/deforestation-agriculture#how-much-forest-has-been-replaced-by-cattle
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969715303697
biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/food/cattle_grazing_statement.html
mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/11/4526
academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/64/6/487/289974?login=true&guestAccessKey=
https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/deforestation/#:~:text=In%20Australia%2C%20deforestation%20is%20primarily,key%20areas%20such%20as%20Queensland
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-inventory-report-2020-volume-2.pdf
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2204892120
researchgate.net/publication/358094285_Cattle_breeds_-_contemporary_views_on_their_origin_and_criteria_for_classification_a_review
https://jornada.nmsu.edu/files/bibliography/15-010.pdf
https://journals.pan.pl/Content/99149/PDF/9.pdf
cetnotorolidia.org/opencms_wf/opencms/system/modules/es.jcyl.ita.site.torodelidia/elements/galleries/galeria_downloads/The_origin_of_Bos.pdf
nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14137-6
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1040618209003000
nature.com/articles/s41598-025-26274-9
https://www.hnp.hu/en/szervezeti-egyseg/tourism/oldal/breeding-of-reconstructed-aurochs
nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14137-6
https://share.google/8E4Nd8inlDHuLIWAf
nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08112-6#Sec1
atlasobscura.com/articles/where-did-aurochs-live
pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1402183111
https://agro.icm.edu.pl/agro/element/bwmeta1.element.agro-edba7823-f859-480f-ab93-cc618b0e4ab1
queensu.ca/eventscalendar/calendar/events/bader-chair-northern-baroque-art-history-lecture-last-aurochs-extinction-artistic
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440318304989
theextinctions.com/articles-1/ns0atubs8qd60o16itraa69zhw7e0w
cambridge.org/core/journals/animal-genetic-resources-resources-genetiques-animales-recursos-geneticos-animales/article/abs/history-of-the-aurochs-bos-taurus-primigenius-in-poland/73E5642DC0324EC98B52B34C57F9AE92
bbc.com/future/article/20240312-the-rewilding-project-bringing-back-an-ancient-breed-of-cattle-to-portugal
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10873014
------
Images:
docs.google.com/document/d/11LXlNThj2tgmD-nDJRZd3dv77l3DN3INMMT0VlNOOJk/edit?tab=t.0
