Sayaguesa

The Sayaguesa is a Spanish breed, ideally suited for grazing sparse natural areas. Worldwide there are about 600 animals left of this rare breed. The Sayaguesa is a large type of cattle with a shoulder height of about 156 centimeters and weighs between 650 and 850 kilograms. Originally, this breed comes from the southwest of the Spanish province of Zamora, from an arid medium-high mountain landscape, where it was mostly used as a pack animal. The landscape there is much more nutrient-poor than most Dutch natural areas.

The Sayaguesa is a primitive breed of cattle with a great ability to survive independently in dunes, heathland or other sparse natural areas. The breed has been gaining popularity in recent years, partly because he does not (unlike the Scottish Highland) fertilize steams and pools in stream valleys. The Sayaguesa also bodes well in warm conditions during the summer days. Under natural conditions, the birth peak of the breed occurs in the months of March, April and May. In 2015, FREE Nature introduced a small herd of Sayaguesa cattle to Schiermonnikoog.

As a bovine, the Sayaguesa concentrates on eating grasses, but in the summer day the Sayaguesa also likes to eat from branches and twigs of plants such as birch and prunus. In times of food scarcity, this forms the main part of its diet. In winter, the leaves of blackberries are also eagerly eaten, pruning the scrubs and stopping the species to extensively sprawl. Like other wild cattle, they live in a matriarchal structure headed by an older, experienced female.