Wiped out
The Aurochs (Bos primigenius) was the first cattle in Central Europe exterminated by man. Once the base form of our domestic cattle lived in large lowlands of the fluvial plains all over Europe. Hunting the Aurochs was a royal privilege and a brave deed for centuries. The immense cattle had a length (back) upto 2 metres and a weight of 1 ton. The Aurochs was exterminated in Germany around 1400, the last one of this species died in the woods near Warsaw in 1627. The clearing of the lowlands contributed to the extermination as well as the hunting did. Today you can coincidentally discover remains of Aurochses by excavations in the floodlands.
The last wild Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) was shot in Thuringia in the second part of the 18th century. The Brown bear, the biggest predator in Central Europe, was a royal game. Bear hunting was left to the aristocracy. The kind of the hunt and the level of the hunting weapons decided the chance of survival of the hunter and the hunted. After the invention of fire arms the Brown bear's fate was sealed in Central Europe. Increased clearing of the woods and the population forced this species back, its living space permanently became smaller. The stock decreased under the critical level of preservation of this species in the 16th century already. The last proof of reproduction in Thuringia is from 1693 (Gehren near Suhl).
The Lynx (Lynx lynx) was an important regulator of the stock of game in Central Europe. This secretly living big cat is harmless for man. There is no sure proof of an attack of the Lynx on human beings. The hunting and the extermination of the natural woods are the causes for the disappearance of the Lynx in Thuringia. This species needs wide varied mixed woodlands and can hardly survive in forestry monocultures. The territory of this animal is indicated by 3-10000 ha. The last native Lynx was shot in Thuringia near Luisenthal in 1819. Seldom Lynxis come here from Tschechien, but they are hunted immediately. The so called dangerousness of the Lynx prevents the resettling of this species.
The Wolf (Canis lupus) is a species most handicapped with negative ideas. The progenitor of the domestic dog lived in permanent neighbourhood with the people. Conflicts followed from the Wolf's way of life and from the permanent expansion of developed and cultivated land. The farming created good nutritional conditions for the pursuiter - Wolf, which now and then appropriated the farmers' cattle (most in winter). Wolfs live in packs only in the winter. The campaign of their extermination started with the invention of the fireweapons. Royal battues became a habit. The Wolf , the Bear and the Lynx were popular game. The Wolf often was brutally tortured to death (wolf's line, gin trap). The last proof of cubs in Thuringia is from 1718 (Mühlhausen), the last Wolf was shot in Thuringia round 1860.