THEY are the remnant of a Nazi project to resurrect a 'pure' species of super-cow which once roamed the primeval forests and plains of Europe.
Heck cattle were created by pre-war German zoologists in an attempt to bring back the Aurochs, a mighty wild bovine believed to be the ancestor of many modern breeds which went extinct centuries ago.
But now the public will hear the thunder of their hooves again as a Scottish farmer prepares to open an animal sanctuary where the beasts will be the stars of the show.
However, man and beast will have to keep a wary distance as the breed, which can weigh just shy of a tonne, is notoriously bad-tempered and possesses a lethally long pair of horns.
The cows were bred to resemble Aurochs
Derek Gow, 54, who is originally from Dundee, has spent the past year creating an attraction which will include a range of exotic animals such as wild boar, English wild cats, and a herd of Heck cows.
Partly because of a long interest in the breed, and also to avoid any Brexit-related hold-ups, Mr Gow has imported them onto his farm in Lifton, Devon, as a sideline to agriculture in case of any ill-effects not that the UK is leaving the EU.
READ MORE: Field find could push back date when Scotland was settled
He said: "I'm certainly concerned about Brexit and the way farming is going. With the withdrawal of farming subsidies we will have to look at how the land is used.
"For me, it was time to stop and look at what we do with our farm. The visitors will be on the other side of the fence from the cows, people won't be able to get in the same field as them.
"They're not aggressive per se, but if there are calves of bulls in the field then they can be dangerous so people will not be able to get close to them."
He added: "As long as visitors are on the right side of the fence they will be fine. There is no reason to be scared. I think that is what they said in Jurassic Park about the Tyrannosaur though"
The quest to bring back the Aurochs, which would one day lead to Heck cattle, was undertaken by brothers Heinz and Lutz Heck, and took many years.
The Nazi attempts to return to a mythical 'Aryan' past were not limited to just eradicating people they considered inferior, but also to returning nature to 'purer' forms.
An Aurochs skull found near Stonehenge
With no understanding of the modern science of genetics, which was yet to be developed, the brothers tried to 'breed backwards' using types of cattle picked for their resemblance to the ancient beast.
But while Heinz fell foul of the Nazi regime after marrying a Jewish woman, and was briefly interned in a concentration camp, his brother Lutz prospered.
Attracting Herman Göring, Adolf Hilter’s second-in-command, as his patron, he became director of the Berlin Zoo and oversaw the project to its completion.
READ MORE: Fight on to secure 4,000-year-old Sheriffmuir Ball
Aurochs were once plentiful across Europe, and are recorded in neolithic cave paintings in France which date back almost 20,000 years.
Powerfully built, with short legs and massive shoulders, the sturdy cow was hunted for millennia, with the last one meeting its end in a forest in Poland in the 15th century.
Today's modern cattle are a gentler breed
By using medieval manuscripts and descriptions of the beast, as well as romantic notions about what a 'pure' cow should look like, the brothers selectively bred certain traits such as hardiness, horn length, size and temperament to bring back their idealised version of the long-vanished animal.
Heck cattle's close association with the Nazi regime became their downfall, however, and many were slaughtered after the war. It is thought that fewer than 2,000 remain today, in herds scattered across Europe.
READ MORE: New bid to save Orkney's ancient seaweed-eating sheep
Mr Gow, an ecologist and expert on reintroducing beavers to Britain, said: "The project is developing rapidly and we hope that people will be able to come to the farm and see the animals and hear talks about what the countryside was once like.
"We are re-wilding parts of the farm and also on the site there will be wild boar, Mouslom sheep, European wildcats and wild beavers."
"It's nice to see everything start to thrive, we're not hard at work farming any more."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here