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Rare cattle making comeback in southern Montana
LIVINGSTON (AP)--A rare herd of British cattle whose descendants were shipped to the United States during World War II is thriving in southern Montana.
The B-Bar Ranch near Big Timber owns one of the world's largest herds of White Park cattle, which look similar to Longhorns and have been memorialized in England since the 13th century. Historians still aren't sure if they originated from wild cattle or were introduced by the Romans, B-Bar Ranch manager Wes Henthorne said.
"They are without a doubt one of the rarest surviving cattle breeds in the world," he said. "They really are historical cattle."
During World War II, the English feared invading Nazi Germany would wipe out the country's national symbols and sent a pair of White Park bulls and a pair of cows to the Toronto Zoo.
After a stint at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, the cattle were shipped to a ranch in Texas, where they stayed until the 1980s, Henthorne said.
From that herd, the B-Bar Ranch bought 15 cows and a bull.
"The first thing we set out to do is preserve the genetics" of the herd, Henthorne said. "We achieved that goal. Now we're looking at their commercial value."
The herd has since grown to 150 cattle, with another 25 cattle at a ranch in Tom Miner Basin as a "conservation herd."
Grass-finished cattle are increasing in popularity, and Henthorne said his ranch wants to find more cost-effective ways to grow and sell the cattle, which are slow to mature.
"We'd also like to have the cattle be geographically diverse," he said.
Date: 8/25/04
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