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Cattle with Similar Markings Across the World
Of great interest and telling is the Antiquity of these breeds in their various geographic
regions. The geographic reach of these cattle markings, their
antiquity, there reverence in their locale, and their similarity to
the ancient Park Cattle (polled British White and horned White Park)
is meaningful and significant to me when I work on researching the ancient
history of my much beloved British White breed, which every day shows
me, among the more traditional attributes of excellent brood cows and
beef, their quite eerie intelligence and gentleness, unlike any other
breed in the USA....
(1)
SOURCE:
Oklahoma
State University - Breeds of Livestock
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Marchigiana (mar-key-jah-nah)(1)
Other Names: Del Cubante (Avellino).
The Marchigiana breed originated in the Marche and
surrounding provinces of
Italy near Rome. This area is typified by rough
terrain and the available feed is often less than ideal.
The breed now makes up about 45% of Italy's total cattle
population. The Marchigiana
breed is widespread throughout the Marches, Labium,
Abruzzo and Campania areas of Italy.
There seems to be considerable differences in opinion
as to the exact origin of the breed. According to
The Meaty Marchigiana, a leaflet published by the
American International Marchigiana Society, they were
brought into the area by
the Barbarians after the
fall of Rome in the fifth century.
Anther version, put forth by Dr. Briggs in Modern
Breeds of Livestock, is that it is a relatively
new breed, being differentiated as late as 1933 and
known locally at the time as the Improved Marche.
The Marchigiana hair coat
is white. Calves are fawn or wheat colored at birth
and will turn white at 3 to 4 months. They have pronounced
black skin pigmentation. The tongue, muzzle, and orifices
are black. The switch of the tail and area around the
eyes has dark, almost black, hair. The
medium-sized horns are black at the tip, white
in the middle, and have a yellowish cast at the base
and usually curve forward in bulls and upward in females.
Due to the introduction of the poll gene from foundation
females used in grading up, percentage cattle are often
selected for the polled trait in the United States.
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Nguni
(1)
The breed from the past for the future
Nguni cattle are a sub-type of the African Sanga cattle
associated with the pastrolist cattle culture of the
Negro/Bantu people of Africa. Protein analyses indicate
that they have characteristics of both Bos Taurus and
Bos Indicus cattle.
Physiologically they have characteristics that place
them apart from both types. What is certain is that
they have been shaped by natural selection in the African
environment for thousands of years.
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Galloway
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Historian's writings differ somewhat, but upon three
points they generally agree regarding the origin
of the Galloway. The breed is recognized to be a
very ancient one, with obscure origins shrouded
in antiquity and its' name derived from the word
Gallovid or Gaul.
Characteristics
The most visible characteristic of the Galloway is
their long hair coat. Serving a dual purpose, the coarse
outer coat sheds wind and rain, while the soft, fur-like
under coat provides insulation and waterproofing. The
color of the coat ranges from the more popular Black,
to Dun (silver through brown), Red,
White (with dark pigment about
the eyes, nose, ears and teats), and the Belted
(black, dun or red, with a white band around the middle).
It is said that the Galloway breed was never crossed
with the other breeds. It is not known where the polled
character was acquired by the Galloway breed because
in its beginning many of the cattle were horned. However,
many writers during the last part of the 1700s and early
1800s mentioned polled Galloway cattle, and the breeders
decided they liked the polled characteristic and started
selecting their cattle for the character. Most of the
early cattle in the Galloway district were black, but
red, brown, brindles, and cattle with white markings
were not uncommon. ALSO
SEE: WHITE
GALLOWAY for amazing
photos.
"Galloway cattle are generally
very docile," quotes William Youatt, (English
researcher, scientist, veterinary surgeon, historian
& standard writer on cattle in the early 1800s.) He
goes on to say, "This is a most valuable point about
them in every respect. It is rare to find even a bull
furious or troublesome." Galloways are very courageous
however, and if annoyed by dogs or wild animals, they
will act in concert, by forming a crescent and jointly
attacking.
William McCombie, (pioneer Scottish Angus & Shorthorn
breeder) said, "The Galloway undoubtedly has many great
qualifications. On poor land they are unrivaled, on
land so poor our Aberdeens could not subsist upon it.
There is no other breed worth more by the pound weight
than a first-class Galloway."
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Nelore
(1)
It was in Brazil that some authors started to use
the name Nellore as a synonym to
Ongole, the Indian breed that contributed most to
the creation of the Nelore.The history of the
Ongole dates back 2,000 years before Christian times.
It was the Aryan people that brought the ancestors of
the Nelore to India, where they were submitted to extreme
weather conditions. The arid lands of Belushistan, the
cold winters of Punjab, the alluvial lands of Ganges
and the torrid lands by the Bengal sea provided the
Ongole breed with the adaptation genes that are
now favorably expressed in the modern Nelore.
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Fjall(Fjällras)
(1)
Also
known by: Swedish Mountain, Fjällras, Swedish Highland
The Fjall is polled and of typical dairy type, its considered
a very good grazing animal and an efficient milk producer.
The color varies from nearly totally white, to white with
spots of black or red, over to colour-sided black or red
with white top and bottom line. Sometimes even single colored
black or red animals occur. More seldom can gray color be
seen.

The Fjall is closely related with the Norwegian breed
" Sidet tronderfe/nordlandsfe" or "STN
See Also:
Swedish Mountain Cattle (Fjällras)
for additional photos and detailed information.
Breed Society:
Svensk Fjällrasavel, Larstorp, S-590 30 Borensberg, Sweden
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Blanco Orejinegro
(1)
Also Known As: Antioquia, Bon, BON
They are white with black points. The coloration of the
breed has lead to speculation as to its ancestory with possible
connections to Wild White, Swedish Mountain, Trondheim,
Mauritius or White Italian cattle considered possible. A
more likely origin is that the breed was simply selected
for the color pattern over a period of time.
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Channi (1)
The
Channi is one of the premium draft breeds of Pakistan
and India.
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Cholistani
(1)
The Cholistani is a multi-purpose breed, being used
for both meat and milk and as a draft animal. They are
Zebu or Bos indicus cattle and are found in the
Cholistan desert in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Cholistani
are usually speckled red, brown or black. They are of
recent origin and are thought to have been derived from
the crossing of
Sahiwal with the local cattle.
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Dhanni (1)
The Dhanni is a draft type
that is found in Attock, Rawalpindi and Jhelum districts
in Punjab Province of Pakistan. The coloring in the majority
of Dhanni cattle consists of black or red/brown spots on
a white coat. The average weight at maturity is 400 kg for
males and 300 kg for female
s.

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Vestland Fjord
(1)
Also
Known By: Vestlandsk fjordfe, Fjord, West Coast Fjord,
Westland Horned, Western fjord cattle
This is a non-commercial rare breed with a registered
population of 100 heifer (2 years and younger) and 214
cows as of January 1995.

The Vestland Fjord can be horned or polled, multi-coloured
dual purpose cow that is common to the fjord area of
Western Norway. It is short-legged and small-boned.
It is the smallest of the native Norwegian breeds. It
is a relatively efficient milk yielder for its size,
producing approximately 4000 kg a year on a high roughage
diet. Live weight is approximately 400 kg. Semen reserves
in 1995 was 15,331 units (20 bulls).
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CANADIAN SPECKLE PARK
The Speckle Park is a relatively new
composite breed whose origins in the 1950's are not wholly
known. But for certain a polled White Park (British
White) was key to the Foundation animals established.
Most recently the history of the breed reflects speculation
that a Teeswater Shorthorn female sired by a polled White
Park bull was the foundation maternal line of the breed.
Black Angus bulls were used in the development of the breed
known today as Speckle Park. The various color patterns
seen in this breed are identical to those found in the polled
and horned White Park herds of today, but on a much more
limited basis as British White and White Park breeders discourage
continued breeding for 'overmarked' seedstock.
" . . .
Mary Lindsay had spotted a red roan heifer in her fathers
herd a few years before and because she was interested in
unusual colors she bought the heifer. Regardless of the
herd sire she bred the cow to it always produced calves
with that color pattern. It is believed that the heifer
was a descendent of a Teeswater Shorthorn which had been
bred to a White Park bull.

The Lamonts crossed their speckled cows with Black Angus
bulls . The resulting offspring came in a variety of color
patterns, some white with black points, some leopard colored
and some black sided with speckled hips, white top and underline
and roan faces. The Lamonts grew very interested and decided
to attempt to develop a new breed. . . "
Pictures courtesy
of Legacy Speckle
Parks, the herd developed by the Vogel family of
Saskatchewan,
Canada
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