A note on the behavior of feral cattle in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico

Hernández, Lucina; Barral, Henri; Halffter, Gonzalo; Colón, Salvador Sánchez

doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(99)00015-5

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Apart from wild ancestors, which for cattle are extinct, and few examples of feral populations (e.g. Hernandez et al, 1999), domestic herds kept in natural environments represent the main source of information about natural behaviour.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Podolian beef production on pasture and in confinement

Braghieri

Pacelli

Rosa

et al. 2011

Animal

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the effect of rearing system (confined (C) v. free ranging (FR)) and season (spring v. summer) was evaluated on behaviour, immune and blood parameters and beef production (experiment 1). From February to August 2008, the effect of rearing system was only evaluated on beef production (experiment 2). A total of 12 Podolian young bulls were used each year. They were slaughtered at 18 and 15 months of age in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Herbage mass and pasture composition were monitored during the 2 years. Pasture availability, in terms of herbage mass and composition, as well as its seasonal development, was similar in the 2 years. In the first experiment, FR animals spent more time walking ( P , 0.05), feeding ( P , 0.001) and standing ( P , 0.01) and showed a lower number of agonistic ( P , 0.05) and non-agonistic social interaction than C animals ( P , 0.01). Significant lower concentrations of serum urea nitrogen ( P , 0.001) and creatinine ( P , 0.10) in FR animals indicated a lower protein nutritional status due to inadequate protein availability at pasture. As a consequence, average daily gains ( P , 0.05), slaughter weight ( P , 0.05) and body condition score ( P , 0.01) were lower in grazing animals as compared with C bulls. Cellular immune responsiveness was higher in FR animals ( P , 0.05). Similarly, antibody titre to keyhole limpet hemocyanin was higher in FR bulls at the 2nd and 3rd month after antigen injection ( P , 0.05), whereas it tended to be higher at the 4th month ( P , 0.10). In both experiments, grazing negatively affected meat colour in terms of lightness. Eighteenmonth-old bulls also showed lower final weight, weight gain and body conditions when kept outdoor: a possible consequence of nutrient deficits, as suggested by the metabolic status of FR animals. The same animals, however, benefited from FR in terms of natural behaviour expression and immune responsiveness. When the experiment was replicated the subsequent year, on animals slaughtered at 15 months of age, no differences between the performances of FR and C animals were detected. The earlier slaughter age system was also proportionally less dependent on external inputs as grazing was not extended to the dry season when herbage mass availability was lower.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Podolian beef production on pasture and in confinement

Braghieri

Pacelli

Rosa

et al. 2011

Animal

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“…Cattle can represent European beef breeds such as Hereford or Angus or the breeds more adapted to extreme environments such as Highlanders, Brahman, or Texas Longhorns. Many local breeds of cattle have lived as wild animals over the past century or more and are capable of surviving in complex landscapes with minimal support from human societies (e.g., Hernandez et al 1999). We suggest that comparisons should be specific in their objectives, comparing bison to specific breeds of cattle or to local herds that are typical for production agriculture.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

ABS Working Paper 4 - Bison as keystone herbivores on the Great Plains: Can cattle serve as proxy for evolutionary grazing patterns?

Fuhlendorf

Allred

Hamilton

2010

American Bison Society Working Paper Series

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“…Apart from wild ancestors, which for cattle are extinct, and few examples of feral populations (e.g. Hernandez et al 1999), domestic herds kept in natural environments represent the main source of information about natural behaviour. Podolian cattle, one of the most direct descendants of the ancient wild bovine with a genetic relationship with similar breeds from the Balkans, Anatolia and the Middle East, may be considered a valid example of biodiversity preservation.…”

Section: Conservation Of Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hidden Costs of Livestock Environmental Sustainability: The Case of Podolian Cattle

Braghieri

Pacelli

Bragaglio

et al. 2015

The Sustainability of Agro-Food and Natural Resource Systems in the Mediterranean Basin

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Life cycle assessment (LCA) is currently one of the most widely used methods for assessing the environmental impacts and performance of livestock products. According to this procedure, intensification of animal production is generally advocated to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions compared with extensive grazing systems due to the use of selected breeds, with enhanced productivity, and the significant reductions in CH 4 emissions consequent to the use of concentrates rather than forages. In addition, the impact of intensive systems on land use is much lower. However, free-ranging Podolian cattle show a number of positive environmental effects, such as increased climate stability, improved soil functionality, water quality and footprint and preservation from fires along with maintaining an economically active social community in otherwise unproductive, marginal areas. Other beneficial effects of extensive Podolian farming system include low competition with human nutrition and high level of animal health and welfare. An economic evaluation of these non-commodity outputs should be indirectly estimated by the avoided costs (e.g. reduced veterinary interventions and therapy treatments) or the lack of profits (e.g. direct payments for the enhancement of environmental performance) that would have incurred in their absence. These economic evaluations should be used in order to allocate them as further outputs to be included in the LCA in order to achieve a more accurate estimation of the impact of the Podolian farming system.

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A note on the behavior of feral cattle in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico

Cited by 25 publications

References 18 publications

Podolian beef production on pasture and in confinement

Podolian beef production on pasture and in confinement

ABS Working Paper 4 - Bison as keystone herbivores on the Great Plains: Can cattle serve as proxy for evolutionary grazing patterns?

The Hidden Costs of Livestock Environmental Sustainability: The Case of Podolian Cattle

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