The Mertolenga is a Portuguese

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 ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

. It is named for the

concelho Concelho () is the Portuguese-language term for municipality, referring to the territorial subdivision in local government. In comparison, the word ''município'' () refers to the organs of State. This differentiation is still in use in Portugal a ...

Mértola Mértola () is a municipality in southeastern Portuguese Alentejo near the Spanish border. In 2011, the population was 7,274, in an area of approximately : it is the sixth-largest municipality in Portugal. Meanwhile, it is the second-lowest populat ...

in south-eastern

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...

, bordering with Spain. In 2003 it was one of thirteen registered Portuguese cattle breeds, constituting approximately 19 per cent of cattle in the country.Institut national de la recherche agronomique (2003): ''Animal research'', Volumes 52–53, EDP Sciences S.A. (France).

History

The Mertolenga originated as a colour variant within the

Alentejana The Alentejana is a cattle breed from Portugal that was the main breed raised for meat in Southern Portugal historically. The Alentejana breed has the Protected Geographical Status, protected geographical status of Denominação de Origem Contr ...

cattle of

in south-eastern Portugal, identified in 1873. It derives in part from the Spanish

Berrenda en Colorado Berenda (Spanish: ''Berrenda'', meaning "female antelope") was an unincorporated community in Madera County, California. It is located on the north bank of Berenda Creek southeast of Fairmead, and northwest of Madera, at an elevation of . ...

. The breed region is circumscribed almost exclusively to southern Portugal in the Low

, and

Ribatejo The Ribatejo () is the most central of the traditional provinces of Portugal, with no coastline or border with Spain. The region is crossed by the Tagus river (''Ribatejo'' translates to "upper Tagus", or more precisely, "up the Tagus" relative ...

regions.

Characteristics

Use

The Mertolenga was originally used principally for

draught work A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for tr ...

in the rice fields of Alentejo. It was also used to assist in moving and handling fighting cattle, in the same way that the Berrenda en Colorado is used in Spain. In the twenty-first century it is reared for beef, some of which is marketed as ''Carne Mertolenga'', which has Denominação de Origem Protegida status.

References

Cattle breeds Cattle breeds originating in Portugal Portuguese products with protected designation of origin {{cattle-stub