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Highland cattle have always been associated with Scotland. But as for all other breeds of dairy cows and beef cattle, the Highland is a member of a very large family. Highlands belong to the Artiodactyla order, to the Ruminantia suborder, to the Bovidae family, to the Bovini tribe and to the Bos genus. There are five species in its genus: the gaur from South East Asia (bos frontalis), the yak from Tibet (bos grunniens), the banteng (bos javanicus) mostly found in Bali, the kouprey from Cambodia (bos sauveli) and finally, the domestic cattle (bos taurus).
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When the Neolithic and Bronze Age man arrived in Scotland (5000 B.C.), he was accompanied by the Celtic ox, or Celtic Longhorn (bos longifrons). Crossbreeding between the two bovine species occurred until the extinction of the auroch in Scotland. The last auroch disappeared from Scotland around the 10th century (while the last specimen of the species disappeared in Poland in 1627). The genetic preponderance of the domesticated Celtic ox was a determining factor in the emergence of the Highland breed (kyloe) in the western part of Scotland and the Hebrides (Western Islands). |
Literature
dating back to the 19th century states that the Highland breed is one
of the oldest and is in fact the direct descendant of the European auroch,
a prehistoric ox that can be found on many rock paintings dating back
to the Stone Age. The European auroch (bos primignenius primigenius) settled
in Scotland during glaciations and was left stranded following the retreat
of the ice.