La Reina (cattle)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The La Reina (English: Queen) is a Creole breed of cattle and was developed in, and is unique to, Nicaragua. The Reina cattle have special characteristics for the tropics, they possess genes that make them heat tolerant. It is a very useful breed in the Nicaraguan agrarian culture as it can be used for both meat and dairy purposes.

It is reported that only one pure commercial herd is maintained in Nicaragua.

Recently the Government of Nicaragua declared the Reina a National Treasure and in conjunction with the National Agrarian University of Nicaragua (Universidad Nacional Agraria) (UNA) agreed to a genetic improvement program of the cattle.

[edit] Characteristics

Reina cattle are red in colour and are slick haired, giving superior heat tolerance. They are a dairy breed that can give up to 7000 pounds of milk on forage only diets^[1].