Family BOVID.dE. 
Genus Bos. 
WILD WHITE CATTLE. 
Bos taunts, Linnaeus. 
Plates 40-41. 
It is difficult to trace with any certainty the origin of the so-called 
' Wild ' Cattle Jiving under semi-feral conditions to-day, and now considered 
by most authorities to be descended in all probability from domestic animals 
which had escaped from captivity at some remote period, and after shelter- 
ing for an unknown time in our forests as truly wild creatures, were driven 
into enclosures in medieval times. 
It is therefore a question whether they should be included in a work of 
this kind, but as the history of the different breeds is of some interest a short 
account of the principal herds is given. 
Mr. Millais considers {JMammals of Great 'Britain and Ireland, vol. iii. 
p. 188) that "there is a strong probability that the 'Wild' Cattle and all 
our domestic cattle are descended from breeds produced on the Continent, 
and that these, after centuries of domestication elsewhere, were introduced 
into Britain. As far as we can guess, these breeds originally came from the 
Urus, but at so remote a date that the very earliest history and pictures can 
give no clue." 
An early domesticated Ox, known as Bos /ongifrons, whose bones have 
been found in large numbers along with the flint implements of ancient 
Britons, is said to be the origin of our small Welsh and Highland Cattle. 
5° 
