Editing Breeding back (section)

{{Short description|Artificial selection}}
{{distinguish|Backcrossing|Dedomestication|De-extinction}}
[[File:Heckrund4.JPG|thumb|[[Heck cattle]] were bred in the 1920s to resemble the aurochs.]]

'''Breeding back''' is a form of [[artificial selection]] by the deliberate [[selective breeding]] of [[domestication|domestic]] (but not exclusively) animals, in an attempt to achieve an animal breed with a [[phenotype]] that resembles a [[wild type]] ancestor, usually one that has gone extinct. Breeding back is not to be confused with [[dedomestication]].

Though bred-back breeds may be very similar to the extinct wild type in phenotype, ecological niche, and to some extent genetics, the [[gene pool]] of that wild type was different prior to its [[extinction]]. Even the superficial authenticity of a bred-back animal depends on the particular stock used to breed the new lineage. As a result of this, some breeds, like [[Heck cattle]], are at best a vague look-alike of the extinct wild type [[aurochs]], according to the literature.<ref name="vanVuure">Cis van Vuure: Retracing the Aurochs – History, Morphology and Ecology of an extinct wild Ox. 2005. {{ISBN|954-642-235-5}}</ref>