Hungarian Grey Cattle

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Hungarian Grey cattle in Hortobágy Puszta, the first and largest national park of Hungary

Hungarian Grey cattle in Berlin Zoo with a bull on the right

Hungarian Grey Cattle or Hungarian Steppe Cattle (in Hungarian: Magyar szürke szarvasmarha or Magyar alföldi) are an old beef cattle breed from Hungary^[1].

The breed belongs to the group of Podolic cattle^[2] and is very well adapted to extensive pasture systems. It originates from the Hungarian lowlands.

[edit] Characteristics

Hungarian Grey cattle are slender and tall. The bulls reach a height of 145 to 155 cm and a weight of 800 to 900 kg, the cows 135 to 140 cm and 500 to 600 kg.

The colour ranges from silvery-white to cinereous. Calves are born with reddish-yellow fur. The Hungarian Greys are robust, unpretentious, easy-calving and long-lived. Their horns are directed upward and are long and curved.

[edit] History

The breed probably arrived with the 9th century Hungarian immigration from the east to the Hungarian lowlands. In the middle ages and early modern times the breed was used as a draught animal but from 1861 has been bred for early maturity and its beef quality, being herded live to the markets of Europe. Nowadays Hungarian Grey cattle are kept mainly as tourist attractions in the Hortobágy National Park and other Hungarian national parks. Small herds may be found in a few other places, e.g. Bocfölde,Western Hungary. These herds serve as gene banks, due to their reported resistance to cattle diseases which affect more highly bred cattle types. By 1975 there were only 300 cows left in two herds, but numbers have since increased.