Highland Cattle

Category

Library Item

Item no

24443

Title

Highland Cattle

Description

A herd of Highland cattle stand grazing on wild grasslands.

Artist / maker

Valentine, James

Date

1865

Size

11.6 x 17.7 cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Highland Cattle are one of Scotland's most prominent icons. Bred in the Scottish Highlands and Western Isles as beef cattle, they are able to keep themselves warm more efficiently with their long coats thus have less of the subcutaneous fat that is often found in many other breeds, making their meat leaner than many other types. These long coats make them hardier than many other breeds and they are often established in other countries where the climates are substantially colder than Scotland's such as parts of Europe and Canada.

The Highland cattle registry ("herd book") was established in 1885. Although groups of cattle are generally called herds, a group of Highlands is known as a fold. They were also known as kyloes in Scots.

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Related subjects

Animals > Mammals > Cattle

Landscape > Land > Grassland

Landscape > Land > Rock formations

Places > United Kingdom > Scotland

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