Chillingham (Wild) Cattle are cattle which live wild in a large enclosed park at Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, England. Chillingham Castle is a medieval castle in the village of the land mark of Chillingham in Northumberland, close to the border between England and Northumberland is a county in the North East of England. The non-metropolitan county of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This rare breed consists (2006) of only about 80 animals worldwide, most of which inhabit a very large park that has existed since the Middle Ages (the remainder are all at one other site). The herd has remained remarkably genetically isolated for hundreds of years, surviving despite inbreeding depression due to the small population. Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is Inbreeding depression is reduced fitness in a given Population as a result of breeding of related individuals [1]
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Description of cattle
The Chillingham cattle are a form of White Park cattle, although they are now generally regarded as separate from the main White Park breed. The White Park (also known as the Ancient White Park, the White Forest, the White Horned, the Wild White, and simply "the Park Chillingham cattle are small, with upright horns in both males and females. Like other White Parks, they are white with coloured ears (they may also have some colour on feet, nose and around the eyes). In the case of Chillinghams the ear-colour is red – in most other White Parks the ears are black (which is genetically dominant over red in cattle).
Description of the Northumberland habitat
The most striking element of the historic habitat at Chillingham is the widespread occurrence of large oak trees amongst grassland (wood pasture), providing a glimpse of Britain as it may have been in medieval times. A habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits" is an Ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular Species. The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin Wood pasture is a historical European land management system in which open woodland provided shelter and Forage for grazing animals particularly Sheep and Cattle A diversity of plants and animals find a habitat here, due to the absence of the intensive farming found in most other places in Britain. Biodiversity is the variation of Life forms within a given Ecosystem, Biome or for the entire Earth. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is an Agricultural production system characterized by the high Inputs of Capital, Fertilizers See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands
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. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel ( Sciurus vulgaris) is a Species of Tree squirrel ( Genus Sciurus A fox is an Animal belonging to any one of about 27 Species (of which only 12 actually belong to the Vulpes genus or 'true foxes' of small Badger is the Common name for any animal of three subfamilies which belong to the family Mustelidae: the same Mammal family as the The European Roe Deer ( Capreolus capreolus) is a Deer species of Europe, Asia Minor, and Caspian coastal regions The Fallow Deer ( Dama dama) is a Ruminant Mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. [2] There are approximately 55 bird species including Common Buzzards, Green Woodpeckers, and the Eurasian Nuthatch which claims this latitude as its northernmost range in the United Kingdom. Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. The Common Buzzard ( Buteo buteo) is a medium to large Bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. The Green Woodpecker ( Picus viridis, sometimes called Yaffle) is a member of the Woodpecker family Picidae. The Eurasian Nuthatch, Sitta europaea, is a small passerine found throughout temperate Europe and Asia, although not in Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
An on-site warden at the park 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. Ros Hill, also known as Ros Castle due to the 3000-year-old Iron Age Hill fort on its summit is a Hill in the county of Northumberland
Ancestry and history of the Chillingham Cattle
According to the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association, Chillingham Cattle bear some similarities to the extinct ancestral species Aurochs, Bos primigenius primigenius, based upon cranial geometrics and the positioning of their horns relative to the skull design. The aurochs or urus ( Bos taurus primigenius) was a very large type of cattle that was prevalent in Europe until its Extinction in 1627 They further claim that Chillingham Wild Cattle may be direct descendants of the primordial ox which inhabited the British Isles during the Stone Age[3]; moreover, according to Tankerville, these characteristics differed from the cattle brought into England by the Romans. The British Isles (Irish variously Na hOileáin Bhriotanacha, Oileáin Iarthair Eorpa, Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór; Ellanyn Goaldagh Eileanan The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric time period during which Humans widely used stone for toolmaking Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC However that theory is not substantiated by current DNA analysis which implies that the Chillingham breed is descended from feral cattle. A feral organism is one that has escaped from Domestication and returned partly or wholly to its wild state [4]
The Chillingham herd is considered to have been in this same site for at least seven centuries. Before the 13th century this breed is claimed to have “roamed the great forest which extended from the North Sea coast to the Clyde estuary” according to the Countess of Tankerville. During the 13th century the King of England licenced Chillingham Castle to become "castellated and crenolated" and a drystone wall to be built to enclose the herd. Chillingham Castle is a medieval castle in the village of the land mark of Chillingham in Northumberland, close to the border between England and Dry stone is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together At this time there was particular concern about Scottish marauders, which explains also the massive build-up of fortification of the nearby Dunstanburgh Castle at the same time. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Dunstanburgh Castle lies on a spectacular headland on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton [5]
Genetics
Chillingham cattle have been largely or wholly separate from other White Park cattle for a long period, and it is not clear whether Chillingham and the other White Parks share a genetic origin. The White Park (also known as the Ancient White Park, the White Forest, the White Horned, the Wild White, and simply "the Park Subfossils stretching back to about 1250, at least show that the skull size has diminished over time; this size reduction may be the result of inbreeding due to the small herd size. Subfossil refers to remains whose Fossilization process is not complete either for lack of time or because the condition in which they were buried were not optimal for fossilization Inbreeding is breeding between close Relatives whether plant or animal
Using blood typology and mitochondrial DNA analysis, it has been possible to examine the genetics of Chillingham wild cattle. Mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA) is the DNA located in Organelles called mitochondria. Dr. J. G. Hall of the Edinburgh Animal Breeding Research Organisation has found that the herd’s DNA does differ significantly from all other known cattle.
Behaviour
The Chillingham cattle herd is one of very few herds of domesticated cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) which are allowed to live effectively as wild animals, including for example leaving all the males uncastrated. Castration (also referred to as Gelding, Neutering, Fixing, orchiectomy, and orchidectomy is any action surgical, chemical Their behaviour may therefore give some insight into the behaviour of ancestral wild cattle. The aurochs or urus ( Bos taurus primigenius) was a very large type of cattle that was prevalent in Europe until its Extinction in 1627
The fittest bull becomes the alpha bull by fighting and threatening other males to establish supremacy within the herd. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family In Social animals the alpha male is the individual in the community to whom the others follow and defer Typically an alpha bull will reign for two to three years, after which time a younger, stronger bull takes over. As with certain other mammal species, the alpha male is normally the only one to breed. Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands Reproduction is the Biological process by which new individual Organisms are produced
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 minimum in the unusually hard winter of 1946-1947, which only 13 animals survived. The British winter of 1946-1947 was one of the most severe Winters on record to affect the United Kingdom. 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. Henry Alan Walter Richard Percy 11th Duke of Northumberland FRS ( July 1 1953 &ndash October 31 1995) was the son of Hugh Percy
As of 2006, the herd numbers about 80 animals, including a small reserve herd of about 20 head located in Fochabers. Fochabers is a village in the Parish of Bellie in Moray, Scotland, not far from the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River
References
- ^ Visscher et al: Viable Herd of Genetically Uniform Cattle, Nature 409 (18 January 2001), p 303)
- ^ The Wild Cattle of Chillingham, brochure of the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association, Chillingham, Alnwick, UK
- ^ Dowager Countess of Tankerville, patron, Chillingham Wild Cattle Association, Ltd. Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. , The Wild White Cattle of Chillingham, Chillingham, Alnwick, England
- ^ Bos primigenius in Britain: or, why do fairy cows have red ears? - Research Article - Critical Essay, http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2386/is_1_113/ai_86063329/pg_3, Jessica Hemming, April, 2002, accessed September 13, 2006. Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ C. M. Hogan, History and architecture of Dunstanburgh Castle, Lumina Technologies, Aberdeen, Scotland, July, 2006
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 2002
- UK Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list, Category 1: Critical
- The Crown Estate's Fochabers estate, home to the reserve herd
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