Maronesa

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Maronesa is a breed of cattle from Portugal similar to the extinct aurochs , the wild form of domestic cattle . Its name is derived from one of the highest mountains in Portugal, the Serra do Marão .

The oldest references to this breed can be found from 1835. For a long time the Maronesa was thought to be a cross between Mirandesa and Barrosa , today it is regarded as a separate breed. Genetic research has shown that Maronesa is different from other Iberian breeds, such as these two. Maronesa were mainly used for field work in mountainous regions, especially near Alvão and Marão.

Appearance and description

The bulls are much larger than the cows and dark brown-black in color and often have a light eel line and a light-rimmed muzzle . The stature of the bulls is muscular and has a curved back line due to the strong shoulder and neck muscles. Her skull has raised forehead curls, the color of which can vary from blonde to dark brown. The horns are thick and curved forward. The cows are much more delicate than the bulls and often much lighter in color - but there are also lines with more dark brown cows. The horns of the cows are also curved forward, sometimes turned outwards.

Maronesas come from the Portuguese highlands and can cope with the harsh climate there. Some herds live without human intervention and show their natural behavior that is adapted to the seasons.

Maronesa are used by TaurOs Project together with other aurochs-like breeds such as Pajuna , Sayaguesa , Maremmana primitivo , Limia cattle and others to breed cattle similar to the aurochs through image breeding.

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See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ JL Viana, A. Fernández, A. Iglesias Blanco, L. Sánchez: Genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships between ten native cattle breeds from Galicia and the north of Portugal. In: Archivos de Zootecnia. Vol. 47, No. 177, 1998, ISSN  0004-0592 , pp. 61-71, online (PDF; 130 kB) .
  2. ↑ Homepage of the TaurOs Project

Web links

Commons : Maronesa  - collection of images, videos and audio files