Chillingham Cattle
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
Chillingham (Wild) Cattle is the name of a herd of wild bovids at Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, England; this rare herd of 62 animals (as of the year 2006) inhabits a very large woodland that has existed since the Middle Ages, although there were fewer animals after World War II. While it is likely there has been no addition of new blood since the Middle Ages, the total genetic isolation of the herd is documented for the last 300 years. It is notable that the herd has survived, since it is subject to inbreeding depression.[1]
Contents |
Description of the Northumberland habitat
The most striking element of the historic habitat at Chillingham is the widespread occurrence of ancient majestic oak trees, providing a glimpse of how much of Britain was densely forested in medieval times. A diversity of vascular plants and insects find a habitat here due to the lack of intensive grazing associated with most commercial cattle operations.
In the 1760s, Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville added a large number of beech and oak trees in a major landscape scheme design he created. By the mid 1800s further specimen tree species were added, including a Giant Sequoia and one of the earliest Sitka Spruce trees to be planted within the United Kingdom The lower elevation reach of the Northumberland site has a tangle of alder trees, which may not appear much different from how they would have appeared in the Early Middle Ages, prior to extensive land clearings throughout Britain.
The Northumberland site is also home to a variety of other species including red squirrel, fox, and badger, as well as Roe deer and Fallow deer.[1] The two deer species are commonly observed, whereas foxes and badgers are more elusive by nature. There are approximately 55 avafauna varieties on site including Common Buzzards, Green Woodpeckers, and the Eurasian Nuthatch which claims this latitude as its northernmost range in the United Kingdom.
Access to the Northumberland habitat as of the year 2006 requires a hike of about 1.5 kilometres with an elevation gain of approximately 200 metres. An on site warden leads small groups on foot to find the Chillingham cattle herd; on some days they are evident in one of the easily accessible meadows, while on other days they are virtually impossible to find, given the tangled woodlands and the amount of space they have for roaming. Just to the east of the park is the summit of Ros Hill which gives an impressive view over the cattle.
Ancestry and history of the Chillingham Cattle
According to the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association, Chillingham Cattle bear some similarities to the ancient species Aurochs, Bos primigenius, based upon cranial geometrics and the positioning of their horns relative to the skull design. They further claim that Chillingham Wild Cattle may be direct descendants of the primordial ox which inhabited the British Isles during the Stone Age[1]; moreover, according to Tankerville, these characteristics differed from the species brought into England by the Romans. However that theory is not substantiated by current DNA analysis which implies that the Chillingham breed is descended from feral cattle.[1]
The Chillingham herd is considered to have been in this same site for at least the prior seven centuries. Before the 13th century this breed likely “roamed the great forest which extended from the North Sea coast to the Clyde estuary” according to the Countess of Tankerville. Records indicate that the King of England at some time during the 13th century licenced Chillingham Castle to become "castellated and crenolated" and for a drystone wall to enclose the herd to afford easier rounding up of cattle for food consumption. In the Middle Ages augmentation of food resources was deemed important enough to construct such an expensive enclosure; furthermore, the wall would have secured the herd from poachers or cattle thieves. In the late Middle Ages there was particular concern about Scottish marauders, which explains also the massive buildup of fortification of the vicinity Dunstanburgh Castle at the same time.[1]
White Park Cattle and Chillingham Cattle are thought to share certain common ancestry from Roman occupation times or earlier, according to the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association. It is a mystery why both breeds are not only white, but never produce offspring with any deviant colouration. As the Chillingham herd has evolved with a subfossil record stretching back to since circa 1250 AD at least, it can be determined that the skull size has diminished, based upon older cranial remains found on site; this size reduction may be the result of inbreeding, given the small herd size.
Genetic data
Through the advances in blood typology and mitochondrial DNA analysis during the latter 20th century, it has been feasible to scrutinize blood chemistry and genetics of Chillingham wild cattle. Dr. J. G. Hall of the Edinburgh Animal Breeding Research Organisation has processed certain blood samples using DNA analysis with the result that the DNA typology of the herd’s DNA is known to be variant from all other known cattle herds by a wide margin. This wide differentiation of DNA from other European cattle breeds makes the Chillingham Cattle even more mysterious as to origin. Furthermore, the allele analysis shows a remarkable similarity of DNA within the Chillingham herd population; while this result correlates well with the unusual lack of diversity of hide colourisation, it is quite surprising to find such DNA uniformity within an entire herd. This research has found the blood grouping to be unique amongst western European cattle. Their complete origin therefore remains a mystery.
Male fighting behaviour
The fittest bull becomes the alpha bull by dint of fighting and threatening other males to establish supremacy within the Chillingham herd. Typically an alpha bull will reign for two to three years, after which time a younger, stronger bull assumes the responsibility. As with certain other mammal species, the alpha bull is the only bull to breed, partially explaining the intensity of inbreeding and perhaps the remarkable DNA homogeneity within the herd. (The Countess speculates that this survival-of-the-fittest element may explain the continuity of the small herd over such a long period of time.) In any case, inbreeding is actually minimized through the natural cycle timing, since the alpha male virtually never breeds with any of his own daughters. That outcome derives from the fact that females must attain an age of about three years to become fertile, a length of time beyond which the alpha is almost always succeeded by a younger bull.
Modern history
In 1939 the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association Limited was formed to study and protect these special creatures. However the herd’s population decreased, and reached a nadir in the winter of 1947, when only 13 animals survived. Upon the death of Lord Tankerville in 1971 the Chillingham herd was bequeathed to the Association; however, when the estate was sold in 1980, only the intervention of the Duke of Northumberland saved the herd by providing a 999 year lease by the Association to the herd’s traditional land.
As of 2006, the herd numbers about 80 animals, including a small reserve herd of about 20 head, secreted in Scotland; moreover, Scotland may have been a geographic centre for this species in prehistoric times, given the cold weather tolerance of the breed.
References
See also
External links
- Chillingham Wild Cattle Society
- "Bos Primigenius in Britain: Or, Why Do Fairy Cows Have Red Ears?" by Jessica Hemming, Folklore Magazine, April 2002de:Chillingham-Rind
fr:Taureaux blancs de Chillingham
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
