The Maronesa is a traditional Portuguese breed of mountain

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 ma ...

. Its name derives from that of the Serra do Marão, which lies in the Trás-os-Montes and

Douro Litoral Douro Litoral () is a historical province of Portugal. It is centered on the city of Porto, now the capital of the Norte Region. Other important cities in the province are Vila Nova de Gaia, Matosinhos, Maia, Póvoa de Varzim, and the historic ...

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in the northern part of the country. Its primary use is for draught power.

History

The origin of the Maronesa is not clear and remains controversial. Historical evidence suggests that it derives from

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

of the

Barrosã The Barrosã is a cattle breed from Portugal. The Barrosã breed has the protected geographical status of DOC (''Denominação de Origem Controlada'') from the European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the Europea ...

and Mirandesa breeds, and it was considered a cross-breed until about 1835, when it was acknowledged to be a separate breed. Support for descent from Barrosã and Mirandesa comes from a 1993 study regarding the frequency of the 1/29 Robertsonian translocation in the three breeds, where the value for the Maronesa (~40%) is intermediate between that for the Barrosã (65%) and that for the Mirandesa (below 2%). A study published in 1998 found it to have a substantial

genetic distance Genetic distance is a measure of the genetic divergence between species or between populations within a species, whether the distance measures time from common ancestor or degree of differentiation. Populations with many similar alleles have s ...

from the Barrosã, the Mirandesa, and all other breeds of northern Portugal and Galicia, micro-satellite analysis of Portuguese breeds in 2004 grouped it most closely with the Barrosã. The Maronesa was formerly numerous in the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Douro The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...

, Minho and Trás-os-Montes, and particularly in the Serra do Alvão, the , and the Serra do Marão. There is no census data from before 1940, when just over head were counted; in 1955 there were animals registered, and in 1972 there were . Numbers later dropped. A

breeders' association Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members o ...

was formed by fourteen breeders in 1988, and a breed register was started in the same year. By 1996 the number of farmers rearing the breed had risen to almost 1500. In 2008, the breed was officially approved by the Direção Geral de Veterinária, and the breed register became a genealogical

herd-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

. In 2007, the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

listed the

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservatio ...

of the Maronesa as "not at risk". At the end of 2016 there were 4777 breeding cows registered in the herd-book; the total population was estimated at 8300–9900. Threats to the Maronesa include the falling number of keepers of the breed, their increasing mean age, and changes in the tax regulations.

Characteristics

The Maronesa is traditional rustic cattle breed. It shows morphological similarity to the Portuguese fighting bull, the Brava de Lide, with marked

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

: mature bulls are larger than cows, have a more heavily muscled neck, and tend to show more development in the foreparts compared with the rectangular body outline of cows and bullocks. The usual colour is black with a chestnut dorsal stripe, but many cows are chestnut-brown. There is a pale ring round the muzzle; the muzzle and mucosa are black. The head is broad and short, and the profile straight. The horns extend horizontally from the skull, then point forwards and downwards so that they are almost parallel to the facial profile. The

dewlap A dewlap is a longitudinal flap of skin or similar flesh that hangs beneath the lower jaw or neck of many vertebrates. More loosely, it can be various similar structures in the neck area, such as those caused by a double chin or the submandibul ...

is well developed. In cows, the

udder An udder is an organ formed of two or four mammary glands on the females of dairy animals and ruminants such as cattle, goats, and sheep. An udder is equivalent to the breast in primates and elephantine pachyderms. The udder is a single mass han ...

is covered in fine hair.

Use

The traditional use of the Maronesa was for draught power. Since 1996, beef and veal from Maronesa animals reared by

eco-friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...

methods in a defined and approximately circular area extending northwards from

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality cover ...

– the area of the Serra do Alvão, the Serra da Padrela and the Serra do Marão – has had DOP status, and may be marketed as "Carne Maronesa DOP". The calving rate is low, at about 75 per 100 cows. The Maronesa has been used in attempts to re-create the aurochs, such as the

TaurOs programme The Tauros Programme, formerly known as TaurOs Project, is a cooperation between the Dutch foundation Stichting Taurus and universities such as the Wageningen University and Research Centre. It is an international effort to breed a type of ca ...

and Uruz project.

History

Characteristics

Use

References

Further reading