Tudanca is a primitive breed of cattle. Tudanco bull.Tudanca cow.Tudanca bull and cows in the mountains of Cantabria, northern Spain, homeland of the breed.Tudancas are used in the Netherlands to retain an open landscape with its biodiversity.
The Tudanca is a traditional Spanish breed of cattle from Cantabria, in northern Spain.[1][2][3][4][5] It takes its name from the village of Tudanca in the Comarca de Saja-Nansa [es] in western Cantabria.[6] In the past it was a draught breed, much used for transport of goods to and from the ports of the Cantabrian coast;[7]: 161 it is now reared for meat,[8]: 268 but is still used in traditional sport of arrastre de piedra, or "stone-dragging".[7]: 160 Despite its geographic proximity, it is not closely related to the other cattle breed of Cantabria, the Pasiega.[8]: 268
Tudanca is a middle-sized cattle breed, with cows reaching 135 cm shoulder height and a weight of 320 kg, bulls reaching 150 cm and 420 kg. The colour of Tudanca goes from greyish to black,[6] cows are lighter than bulls on average. Like the aurochs, Tudanca bulls have a light stripe on their back. Additionally, they often have a light saddle. Typically for Tudanca is the swung back line, which is strongly pronounced in bulls. The cows are smaller and more gracile than the bulls. The long horns of Tudanca are variable, they can be either aurochs-like or swung outwards. Tudanca bulls often carry long curly hair on their front head, which is a feature also described for the aurochs.
José María de Cossío describes the breed as "agile, strong, frugal and hardy". Tudancas are adapted to the mountainous orography and climate of the Cantabrian upland. Indeed, herds are moved up to the high pastures to graze on June where they are left until October.[6]
Tudancas were formerly used in inner Cantabria as work animals in the field, but after the mechanization of agriculture, the breed was listed as protected domestic animal, since it is, like other primitive cattle breeds, facing extinction because its low economical production rate. The efforts of many breeders and the lately recognized quality of its superb meat[6] have stopped declining and livestock grows back.[9] An equation from 2008 counted 12.991 individuals.[9]
^Breed data sheet: Tudanca / Spain (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2020.
^ abMiguel Fernández Rodríguez, Mariano Gómez Fernández, Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo, Silvia Adán Belmonte, Miguel Jiménez Cabras (eds.) (2009). Guía de campo de las razas autóctonas españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. ISBN9788449109461.
These are the cattle breeds considered in Spain to be wholly or partly of Spanish origin. Inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively Spanish.
