Highland Cattle

A Scottish breed of cattle from the Scottish Highlands and the Western Isles, a rustic breed with long horns and a long shaggy double coat, an oily outer layer over a downy undercoat, that lets it endure harsh weather. Two older types once existed, the smaller black Kyloe of the Hebrides and a larger dun or brown mainland type; the two were registered together under the single name Highland once a breed society formed in 1884 and published the first herd book in 1885, by which time more than 30,000 Highland cattle had already been sold into England, as early as 1723. Highland cattle come mostly in reddish brown, with smaller numbers yellow, black or brindle, and bulls typically weigh around 650 kilograms and stand about 125 centimeters tall. They are reared mainly for beef, prized because their thick coat insulates them so the meat carries less subcutaneous fat, which lets them be raised profitably on marginal land, and the breed has been exported worldwide since the late nineteenth century.