Heinz Heck

Heinz Heck

Heinz Heck (22 January 1894 – 5 March 1982) was a German biologist and director of Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich. He was born in Berlin and died in Munich.

With his brother, Lutz Heck, who was director of the Berlin Zoological Garden, he worked on two breeding back projects. These projects tried to bring back animals that no longer exist. The Heck horse tried to recreate the tarpan, and the Heck cattle tried to recreate the aurochs, the wild cattle of the European forest.

He also helped save the European bison from disappearing completely. He started the first studbook for these animals. This helped people keep track of them. Because of his work, the number of European bison grew, and some were returned to the wild.