White Park Cattle

**Info~**

The White Park is a horned cattle breed
 which is white with colored points. These points include the ears,
nose, rims of eyes, teats and feet but excludes the tail switch. The
upper portion of the tongue should be black while underneath is most
often pink. The intensity of these markings varies from herd to herd.
The White Park is now considered a beef breed and selected for those
traits but historically they were considered dual purpose since some
herds have been used for milk production. It is reported to be well
adapted to non-intensive production systems.

The White Park is not closely related to the British White or American White Park.
 Although all three of these breeds share a common color scheme the
White Park is very genetically distinct from the other two breeds. This
same color patterns is sometimes expressed in other breeds such as the
Berrenda, N'guni, BON and Texas Longhorn.

White cattle with colored points are
first mentioned in old Irish sagas dating back almost 2,000 years. They
are later found again in Welsh law which was formulated at Dynevwr
Castle in Deheubarth by a series of rulers from 856 to 1197 AD. The
Dynevor herd dates to this time. The Chartley and Chillingham herds of
England and the Cadzow herd in Scotland date to the mid-thirteenth
century when herds in England and Scotland were enclosed in hunting
chases. Writers of the time differed as to the origin of the herds. Some
 contended they were brought to Britain while others, including the
famed authority Rev. John Storer, believed they were the direct
descendants of the Wild White Bull that roamed the forests which once
covered the British Isles.

In the early 1800's, at the time of
Storer's writing, there were more than a dozen pure White Park herds
though most were exterminated by the turn of the century. Of the six
ancient herds remaining, the best known is the Chillingham herd. The
registration program for While Park cattle was started in the early
1900s, but lapsed with the outbreak of World War II in the 1940's. At
that stage only the Dynevor, Woburn, Whipsnade and Cadzow herds survived
 as domesticated herds, and the Chillingham and Vaynol as semi-feral
herds. When the Rare Breeds Survival Trust was formed in Britain in 1973
 these remaining herds were given the communal name "White Park".

In the late 1930s one or two pairs of
White Park cattle were imported to Canada. Their offspring eventually
made its way to the Bronx Zoo. A tale persists that these cattle were
taken out of Britain to America to save a national treasure. Sources
vary on their views of this events with some stating it was purely a
business transaction.

Shortly
 after receiving the White Park cattle, the Bronx Zoo determined they
did not have facilities to house the wild cattle for the long term. The
zoo contacted the King Ranch and a deal was made which allowed four of
the animals to be moved to Texas where they remained for nearly 40
years. When the White Park herd was to be sold it was purchased by Mr.
& Mrs. John Moeckly of Polk City, Iowa. In the 1970's, White Park
cattle were imported to both Canada and the US and semen from Dynevr
bulls has been imported to both countries also.

In 1988 a small portion of the herd was
 sold to the Seed Saver's Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. Shortly hereafter
all but a few old cows were sold to the B-Bar ranch in Big Timber,
Montana, along with the White Park registry. The last remnant of the
herd, made up of the aged females, was sold to Mark Fields of Clark,
Missouri. In 1995 there were five herds across North America. Currently
the breed is found in Britain, the United States, Germany, Denmark,
Australia and Canada.

The current status of the White Park is
 Critical with a breeding population of less than 50 animals in the US
and a worldwide population, including its homeland of Great Britain, of
approximately 500 purebred females in 79 herds, plus bulls and young
stock. The White Park cattle in the United States have been DNA typed
for purity and to determine the best breeding plan possible to save its
genetic base. An on-going breeding program has been put into place to
help ensure the breed's survival.

The White Park is genetically far
distant from all British breeds and this has been established by blood
typing. The breeds that appear to be most closely related to the White
Park are the Highland and Galloway of Scotland.
The White Park is a medium-size animal
with mature bulls in working condition weighing approximately 2100
pounds and cows 1400 pounds. Their value in the beef industry lies in
the high quality of their meat and in their great genetic distance from
other breeds which will increase the heterosis effects in crossbreeding
systems

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/whitepark