View source for Highland cattle

{{Short description|Scottish breed of rustic cattle}}
{{Good article}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}

{{Infobox cattle breed
| name          = Highland
| image         = Cow on Pupers.jpg
| image_size    =
| image_alt     = a shaggy orange-red cow with wide-spreading horns
| image_caption = Cow on [[Dartmoor]], in south-west England
| status        = {{ubl|[[FAO]] (2007): not at risk{{r|barb|p=144}}|[[DAD-IS]] (2021): endangered/at risk{{r|dad}}|[[Rare Breeds Survival Trust|RBST]]:UK native breeds{{r|rbst}}}}
| altname       = {{ubl|Kyloe|Long-haired Highland Cattle|Long-haired Scottish Cattle|North Highland Cattle|Scottish Cattle|Scottish Highland Cattle|West Highland Cattle}}
| country       = United Kingdom (Scotland)
| distribution  = worldwide
| standard      = [https://www.highlandcattlesociety.com/breed-standards The Highland Cattle Society]
| use           = meat
| maleweight    = average: 650 kg{{r|dad}}
| femaleweight  = average: 450 kg{{r|dad}}
| maleheight    = average: 125 cm{{r|dad}}
| femaleheight  = average: 105 cm{{r|dad}}
| skincolour    =
| coat          = {{ubl|red-brown|yellow|pale/silver|dun/brindle|black}}
| horn          = horned in both sexes
| subspecies    = taurus
}}

The '''Highland''' ([[Scottish Gaelic]]: ''Bò Ghàidhealach'') ([[Scots language|Scots]]: The '''Hieland''') is a Scottish [[list of cattle breeds|breed]] of rustic cattle. It originated in the [[Scottish Highlands]] and the [[Outer Hebrides|Western Islands]] of [[Scotland]] and has long horns and a long shaggy coat. It is a hardy breed, able to withstand the intemperate conditions in the region. The first [[herd-book]] dates from 1885; two types – a smaller island type, usually black, and a larger mainland type, usually [[Dun (colour)|dun]] – were registered as a single breed. It is reared primarily for [[beef]], and has been exported to several other countries.<ref name=":6">{{cite web |url=http://www.highlandcattlesociety.com/highland_breed/standards.aspx |title=Highland Cattle Society breed standard |publisher=Highlandcattlesociety.com |access-date=13 June 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510053255/http://www.highlandcattlesociety.com/highland_breed/standards.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:(Father and son (highland cattle)) (LOC) (16615444570).jpg|thumb|Bull and bull calf, illustration from 1890–1900]]
[[File:Highland cattle above Malham Cove.jpg|thumb|Black cows]]
[[File:Highland cattle in the Saskatchewan winter.jpg|thumb|Cow and calf in south-eastern Saskatchewan]]
The Highland is a traditional breed of western Scotland. There were two distinct types. The Kyloe, reared mainly in the [[Hebrides]] or Western Islands, was small and was frequently black.{{r|dohner|p=243}} The cattle were so called because of the practice of swimming them across the narrow straits or [[:wikt:kyle|kyle]]s separating the islands from the mainland. The cattle of the mainland were somewhat larger, and very variable in colour; they were often brown or red.{{r|cabi|p=200|rds|p2=66}}

These cattle were important to the Scottish economy of the eighteenth century. At markets such as those of [[Falkirk]] or [[Crieff]], many were bought by drovers from England, who moved them south over the [[Pennines]] to be fattened for slaughter. In 1723 over {{val|30,000}} Scottish cattle were sold into England.{{r|dohner|p=243}}

A [[breed society]] was established in 1884, and in 1885 published the first volume of the [[herd-book]]. In this the two types were recorded without distinction as 'Highland'.{{r|cabi|p=200}}

In 2002 the number of registered breeding cows in the United Kingdom was about {{val|2500}}; by 2012 this had risen to some {{val|6000}}.{{r|cabi|p=200}} In 2021 it was {{val|3161}}; the [[conservation status]] of the breed in the United Kingdom is listed in [[DAD-IS]] as endangered/at risk.{{r|dad}} The number of unregistered cattle is not known.{{r|cabi|p=200}} 

Although a group of cattle is generally called a [[herd]], a group of Highland cattle is known as a "fold". This is because in winter, the cattle were kept in open shelters made of stone called folds to protect them from the weather at night.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.smallholderseries.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=121:cattle-breeds&catid=34:cattle&Itemid=141|title = Smallholder Series&nbsp;– Cattle Breeds|access-date = 13 June 2015|archive-date = 26 September 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170926162843/http://www.smallholderseries.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=121:cattle-breeds&catid=34:cattle&Itemid=141|url-status = dead}}</ref> 

In 1954, [[Queen Elizabeth II]] decided to keep a herd of Highland cattle at [[Balmoral Castle]] where they are still kept today.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.balmoralcastle.com/aims.htm|title = Highland Cattle at Balmoral Castle|access-date = 7 June 2015|archive-date = 27 April 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150427111606/http://www.balmoralcastle.com/aims.htm|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19540225&id=eUxAAAAAIBAJ&pg=5730,5381878&hl=en|title = Queen to found Highland Cattle fold|date = 25 February 1954|work = Glasgow Herald|access-date = 11 September 2015|via = Google Books}}</ref>

[[File:Highland cattle named Petras above Širvintos Lithuania 2020.jpg|thumb|Above [[Širvintos]], in [[Lithuania]]]]
[[File:Highland cattle Secëda Gherdëina.jpg|thumb|Bull, cow and calf on [[Monte Seceda|Seceda]] in the [[Val Gardena]], in northern Italy]]
From the late nineteenth century, stock was exported to various countries of the world, among them Argentina, Australia, Canada, the [[Falkland Islands]], the former Soviet Union and the United States.{{r|cabi|p=200}} Later in the twentieth century there were exports to various European countries.{{r|cabi|p=200}} In 2022 the breed was reported to DAD-IS by twenty-three countries, of which seventeen reported population data. The total population world-wide was reported at just over {{val|40000}}, with the largest numbers in France and Finland.{{r|dad2}}

=== Australia ===

Scottish immigrants brought small numbers of the cattle to Australia from the mid-nineteenth century, but by the late 1800s none remained. Re-establishment of the breed began with an import of two cows and a bull from Scotland in 1954. The stock was later increased, mostly by breeding up using imported [[semen]]; some use was also made of [[embryo transfer]].{{r|aus}} A [[breed society]], the Australian Highland Cattle Society, was formed in 1988.{{r|aus}}

=== Canada ===
Highland cattle were first imported into Canada in the 1880s. The Hon. Donald A. Smith (later [[Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal|Lord Strathcona]]), and Robert Campbell imported one bull each to Manitoba. There were also Highland cattle in [[Nova Scotia]] in the 1880s.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/highland|title = Livestock Conservancy&nbsp;– Highland cattle|access-date = 4 August 2015}}</ref> However, their numbers were small until the 1920s when large-scale breeding and importing began.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.chcs.ca/index.php/highland-breed/history-of-highland-cattle|title = Highland Cattle history in Canada|access-date = 28 April 2015|website = Canadian Highland Cattle Society|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150429032725/http://www.chcs.ca/index.php/highland-breed/history-of-highland-cattle|archive-date = 29 April 2015|df = dmy-all}}</ref> In the 1950s cattle were imported from and exported to North America. The Canadian Highland Cattle Society was officially registered in 1964 and currently registers all purebred cattle in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.clrc.ca/highland.shtml|title = Canadian Highland Cattle Society|access-date = 28 May 2015|archive-date = 28 May 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150528220447/http://www.clrc.ca/highland.shtml|url-status = dead}}</ref> Towards the end of the 1990s, there was a large semen and embryo trade between the UK and Canada. However that has stopped, largely due to the [[Bovine spongiform encephalopathy|BSE]] (mad cow disease) outbreaks in the United Kingdom. Today, Highland cattle are mainly found in eastern Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.highlandcattleworld.com/folds/Canada/canada_intro.html|title = Highland Cattle World&nbsp;– Canada|access-date = 28 May 2015|website = Highland Cattle World}}</ref> In 2001 the population for Canada and the United States of America combined was estimated at {{val|10,000}}.{{r|dohner|p=244}}

=== Denmark ===

The Danish Highland Cattle Society was established in 1987 to promote the best practices for the breeding and care of Highland cattle and to promote the introduction of the breed into Denmark.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://highland-cattle.dk/hjem/Om%20foreningen.html|title=Danish Highland Cattle Society About|website=highland-cattle.dk|access-date=4 December 2016|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220050149/http://highland-cattle.dk/hjem/Om%20foreningen.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Finland ===

The Highland Cattle Club of [[Finland]] was founded in 1997. Their studbooks show importation of Highland cattle breeding stock to Finland, dating back to 1884. The Finnish club states that in 2016, there were {{val|13,000}} Highland cattle in Finland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.highlandcattle.fi|title=SHCC ry|website=Suomen Highland Cattle Club ry.|language=fi-FI|access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref>

=== Sweden ===

The Swedish Highland Cattle Club<ref>{{cite web |title=Startsida |url=http://www.highland.nu/ |website=Svenska Highland Cattle föreningen |language=sv-SE |access-date=15 December 2025}}</ref> was founded in 1976.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Elisabeth |first1=Ekelund Husborn |title=hammersta.net |url=https://www.hammersta.net/sida2.html |website=www.hammersta.net |access-date=15 December 2025 |language=sv-SE}}</ref>

[[Borlänge]] Municipality in [[Dalarna]] maintains a herd of 105 Highland Cattle for conservation grazing. The project began in 1994 when five cattle were purchased to graze restored shoreland meadows at [[:sv:Vassjön (Stora Tuna socken, Dalarna)|Vassjön]], a lake being restored as wildlife habitat.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kommunens highland cattle |url=https://www.borlange.se/uppleva-och-gora/natur/kommunens-highland-cattle |website=www.borlange.se |access-date=15 December 2025 |language=sv-SE |date=22 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Nyström |first1=Sören |last2=Dahl |first2=Marie |title=Naturvård i Borlänge |url=https://www.borlange.se/download/18.38f9fe4d170346e58ae505c/1581244225279/Vassj%C3%B6n%20Rapport.pdf |publisher=Borlänge kommun |access-date=15 December 2025 |pages=16 |language=sv-SE |format=PDF |date=2012}}</ref>

=== United States ===

The first record of Highland cattle being imported to the United States was in the late 1890s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.highlandcattleusa.org/viewarticle.aspx?aname=breedhistory|title=American Highland Cattle Breed History|access-date=7 February 2018}}</ref> The American Highland Cattle Association was first organised in 1948 as the American Scotch Highland Breeders Association, and now claims approximately {{val|1,100}} members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.highlandcattleusa.org/viewarticle.aspx?aname=ahcahistory|title=American Highland Cattle Association History|access-date=7 February 2018}}</ref>

== Characteristics ==
[[File:Canelle et Elina de la Ganne.JPG|thumb|The hair gives protection during the cold winter.]]
[[File:Highland cattle in a field in Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, Quebec.jpg|thumb|Cattle in a field in [[Saint-Benoît-du-Lac]], [[Quebec]]]]
They have long, wide [[horn (anatomy)|horns]] and long, wavy, [[wool]]ly coats. The usual coat colour is reddish brown, seen in approximately 60% of the population; some 22% are yellow, and the remainder pale silver, black or brindle/dun.{{r|cabi|p=200}} The coat colours are caused by [[allele]]s at the ''[[MC1R]]'' gene (E&nbsp;locus) and the [[PMEL (gene)|''PMEL'' or ''SILV'']] gene (D&nbsp;locus).<ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 22524257 | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2052.2012.02361.x | volume=44 | issue=1 | title=Interaction of MC1R and PMEL alleles on solid coat colors in Highland cattle | journal=Anim Genet | pages=9–13 | last1 = Schmutz | first1 = S. M. | last2 = Dreger | first2 = D. L.| year=2013 }}</ref>

They have an unusual double coat of hair. On the outside is the oily outer hair – the longest of any cattle breed – covering a downy undercoat.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Highland Cattle in Alberta|date=April 2006|work=The Alberta Beef Magazine}}</ref> This makes them well suited to conditions in the Highlands, which have a high annual rainfall and sometimes very strong winds.{{cn|date=September 2025}}

Mature bulls can weigh up to {{convert|800|kg|-2|abbr=on|comma=off}} and heifers can weigh up to {{convert|500|kg|-2|abbr=on|comma=off}}. Cows typically have a height of {{convert|90|–|106|cm|abbr=on}}, and bulls are typically in the range of {{convert|106|–|120|cm|abbr=on}}.{{cn|date=December 2021}} Mating occurs throughout the year with a gestation period of approximately {{val|277|–|290}} days. Most commonly a single calf is born, but twins are not unknown. Sexual maturity is reached at about eighteen months. Highland cattle also have a longer expected lifespan than most other breeds of cattle, up to 20 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/mammals/scottish-highland-cattle/|title = Highland Cattle&nbsp;– Sea World|access-date = 22 June 2015|website = seaworld.org|archive-date = 8 March 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180308232714/https://seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/mammals/scottish-highland-cattle/|url-status = dead}}</ref>

== Cold tolerance==
[[File:Texel - Loodsmansduin - Winter of 2010 - Highland Cattle 03.jpg|thumb|cow in the snow]]
All [[Taurine cattle|European cattle]] cope relatively well with low temperatures but Highland cattle have been described as "almost as cold-tolerant as the arctic-dwelling caribou and reindeer".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Animal Sciences: The Biology, Care, and Production of Domestic Animals|last1=Campbell|first1=John R|last2=Douglas Kenealy|first2=M.|last3=Campbell|first3=Karen L.|publisher=Waveland Press|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4786-0821-9|edition=4th|pages=299}}</ref> Conversely due to their thick coats they are much less tolerant of heat than [[zebu cattle]], which originated in South Asia and are adapted for hot climates.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Serif|first1=S. M.|last2=Johnson|first2=H. D.|last3=Lippincott|first3=A. C.|date=March 1979|title=The effects of heat exposure (31&nbsp;°C) on zebu and Scottish Highland cattle|journal=International Journal of Biometeorology|volume=23|issue=1|pages=9–14|bibcode=1979IJBm...23....9S|doi=10.1007/BF01553372|pmid=500248|s2cid=33123426}}<!--|access-date = 4 August 2015--></ref> Highland cattle have been successfully established in countries where winters are substantially colder than Scotland such as [[Norway]] and Canada.{{r|cabi|p=200}}

==Social behaviour==
A fold of semi-wild Highland cattle was studied over a period of four years. It was found that the cattle have a clear structure and hierarchy of dominance, which reduces aggression. Social standing depends on age and sex, with older cattle being dominant to calves and younger ones, and males dominant to females. Young bulls would dominate adult cows when they reached around 2 years of age. Calves from the top ranking cow were given higher social status, despite minimal intervention from their mother. Playfighting, licking and mounting were seen as friendly contact.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|url = http://www.appliedanimalbehaviour.com/article/0168-1591(86)90058-4/abstract|title = Social behaviour and reproductive performance in semi-wild Scottish Highland cattle|last = Reinhardt|first = Catherine|date = 28 February 1985|journal = Applied Animal Behaviour Science|doi = 10.1016/0168-1591(86)90058-4|access-date = 26 August 2015|volume = 15|issue = 2|pages = 125–136|display-authors=etal|url-access = subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Ranks and Relationships in Highland Ponies and Highland Cows|last1 = Clutton-Brock|first1 = T. H.|year = 1976|journal = Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie|doi = 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1976.tb00477.x|last2 = Greenwood|first2 = P. J.|last3 = Powell|first3 = R. P.|pages = 206–216|volume = 41|issue = 2|pmid = 961125}}</ref>

Breeding occurred in May and June, with heifers first giving birth at 2–3 years old.<ref name=":9" />

== Use ==
The meat of Highland cattle tends to be leaner than most beef because Highlands are largely insulated by their thick, shaggy hair rather than by subcutaneous fat. Highland cattle can produce beef at a reasonable profit from land that would otherwise normally be unsuitable for agriculture. The most profitable way to produce Highland beef is on poor pasture in their native land, the Highlands of Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web|url =http://www.nehighlandcattle.org/uploads/NEHCA_Brochure.pdf|title =North East Highland Cattle&nbsp;– About the Breed|access-date =14 September 2015|url-status =usurped|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20151207032956/http://nehighlandcattle.org/uploads/NEHCA_Brochure.pdf|archive-date =7 December 2015|df =dmy-all}}</ref>

=== Commercial success ===
The beef from Highland cattle is very tender, but the market for high-quality meat has declined. To address this decline, it is common practice to breed Highland "suckler" cows with a more favourable breed such as a [[Shorthorn cattle|Shorthorn]] or [[Limousin (cattle)|Limousin]] bull. This allows the Highland cattle to produce a crossbred beef calf that has the tender beef of its mother on a carcass shape of more commercial value at slaughter.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.charolais.co.uk/news/2013/09/04/searching-for-a-sustainable-suckler-strategy/|title = Highland cattle suckler beef|access-date = 15 September 2015|publisher = The British Charolais Cattle Society}}</ref> These crossbred beef suckler cows inherit the hardiness, thrift and mothering capabilities of their Highland dams and the improved carcass configuration of their sires. Such crossbred sucklers can be further crossbred with a modern beef bull such as a [[Limousin (cattle)|Limousin]] or [[Charolais cattle|Charolais]] to produce high quality beef.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url = http://www.highlandcattlesociety.com/highland_breed/highland_breed.aspx|title = Highland Cattle Society; the breed|publisher = The Highland Cattle Society|access-date = 13 June 2016|archive-date = 29 November 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021143/http://www.highlandcattlesociety.com/highland_breed/highland_breed.aspx|url-status = dead}}</ref>

== References ==
{{commonscat}}
{{reflist|45em|refs=

<ref name=aus>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150227021136/http://www.highlandcattle.org.au/index.php/the-breed/breed-history-in-australia Breed History in Australia]. Armidale, New South Wales: Australian Highland Cattle Society. Archived 27 February 2015.</ref>

<ref name=barb>Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). [https://web.archive.org/web/20200623201209/http://www.fao.org/3/a1250e/annexes/List%20of%20breeds%20documented%20in%20the%20Global%20Databank%20for%20Animal%20Genetic%20Resources/List_breeds.pdf List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources], annex to [https://web.archive.org/web/20170110125634/http://www.fao.org/3/a-a1250e.pdf ''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture'']. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. {{isbn|9789251057629}}. Archived 23 June 2020.</ref>

<ref name=cabi>Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). [https://books.google.it/books?id=2UEJDAAAQBAJ&hl=en ''Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding''] (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. {{isbn|9781780647944}}.</ref>

<ref name=dad>[https://dadis-breed-datasheet-ext-ws.firebaseapp.com/?country=GBR&specie=Cattle&breed=Highland&lang=en Breed data sheet: Highland / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Cattle)]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed November 2022.</ref>

<ref name=dad2>[https://dadis-transboundary-ext-ws.web.app/?species=Cattle&transboundary=Highland&lang=en Transboundary breed: Highland]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed November 2022.</ref>

<ref name=dohner>Janet Vorwald Dohner (2001). ''The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds''. New Haven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press. {{isbn|0300088809}}.</ref>

<ref name=rbst>[https://www.rbst.org.uk/watchlist-overview Watchlist overview]. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Accessed December 2021.</ref>

<ref name=rds>James Wilson (1909). [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHFUAAAAIAAJ The Colours of Highland Cattle]. ''The Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society''. '''12''' (New Series): 66–76.</ref>




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{{British livestock|R.}}
{{Scottish animal breeds}}
{{Agriculture of Scotland}}
[[Category:Cattle breeds originating in Scotland]]
[[Category:Highland (council area)]]
[[Category:Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy]]