The Sayaguesa is an endangered Spanish
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
of
domestic cattle. It is named for the
comarca of
Sayago in the
province of
Zamora
Zamora may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions
Europe
Spain
* Zamora, Spain, a city in the autonomous community of Castilla y León
* Province of Zamora, a province in the autonomous community of Castilla y León
* Associated with the city and ...
, in the western part of the
autonomous community of
Castile and León
Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain.
It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
, and is raised almost exclusively in that area. It may also be known as the Zamorana, the Moles de Sayago or the Castellana variedad Sayaguesa. It was traditionally kept mainly for
draught work, but is now raised principally for meat.
History
The Sayaguesa was traditionally kept mainly for
draught work; with the mechanisation of agriculture following the
Second World War, this use declined. In the 1960s there were successive attempts to improve productive qualities by
cross-breeding with
Friesian,
Braunvieh
The Braunvieh ( German, "brown cattle") or Swiss Brown is a breed or group of breeds of domestic cattle originating in Switzerland and distributed throughout the Alpine region. It falls within the "Brown Mountain" group of cattle breeds. The Sw ...
and
Charolais, and later with other breeds. From 1970 the Sayaguesa was included with other regional breeds under the denomination Morenas del Noroeste. In 1997 it achieved separate recognition among the breeds identified by the
Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, the Spanish ministry of agriculture, as "at risk of extinction". Registration of the Sayaguesa began in 1980, and in 1981 a
breeders' association, the Asociación Española de Criadores de Ganado Bovino de Raza Sayaguesa, was formed. In 1998 a genealogical
herd-book was established.
Between 1950 and 1981 the population of the Sayaguesa fell by about a quarter, or some 17,000 head. By 2009 only about 450 head remained, on 29 farms. At the end of 2015 the population was 1,612, of which almost all were in Castilla Léon.
Characteristics
The Sayaguesa is one of the largest indigenous Spanish cattle breeds. It displays considerable
sexual dimorphism: bulls may weigh up to and cows up to . The height at the
withers averages for bulls and for cows.
The coat is black, sometimes lighter on the underparts. There may be a paler
dorsal stripe, often absent in cows. The inside of the ears and the area round the mouth are pale. The hooves, muzzle and natural openings are black, the horns are white at the base and tipped with black. The head is relatively small, with a concave profile. Calves are born red, and only later turn black.
The Sayaguesa is hardy, robust and frugal, and well adapted to the poor pastures and harsh environment of its native area.
Use
The Sayaguesa was traditionally kept mainly for
draught work; with the mechanisation of agriculture following the
Second World War, this use declined, and breeding was directed towards meat production. Calves are slaughtered at an average age of 12 months; yield is approximately 55%.
Pairs of cows may sometimes be
yoked to carts for folklore or festival occasions.
The Sayaguesa has been used in
nature conservation
Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values unde ...
and in attempts to re-create the extinct
aurochs
The aurochs (''Bos primigenius'') ( or ) is an extinct cattle species, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocen ...
.
References
{{Cattle breeds of Spain
Cattle breeds originating in Spain
Province of Zamora
Cattle breeds