Pirenaica
The i=no,, is a Spanish breed of beef cattle indigenous to the Pyrenees of north-eastern Spain. It is distributed mainly in the autonomous communities of Navarre and the Basque [Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country], but is present in much of the northern part of the country. It is well adapted to the mountainous terrain and humid climate of the area. It came close to extinction in twentieth century, but is no longer at risk.
History
The origins of the Pirenaica are uncertain. In the past it was the predominant cattle breed of northern Spain. A herd-book was opened in Gipuzkoa in 1905, the first of its kind in Spain; in 1925 a herd-book was opened in Navarre also. However, from about the turn of the twentieth century, large-scale importation of Braunvieh cattle from Switzerland began to threaten the breed; while at first these were pure-bred, they soon began to be cross-bred with the Pirenaica to improve meat and milk yield. In 1912 a census of cattle in Gipuzkoa found about head, of which less than 40% were pure-bred Pirenaica stock; the remainder were Braunvieh and Braunvieh-Pirenaica crosses, in roughly equal proportions. In 1954 there were head, but by the 1970s the Pirenaica was close to extinction. In 1974 it had disappeared from the Basque Country, with the exception of about 40 head in Gipuzkoa; in Navarre about head remained, of which about were in the valley of Aezkoa.In the 1970s the of Navarre began a programme of recovery of the Pirenaica breed. A number of regional breeders' associations were set up; a national federation of these, the, was formed in 1988. At the end of 2014 the total population was recorded as, of which were female and were male. Of these, about 50% were in Navarre and 25% in the Basque Country; there were substantial populations in Aragón, Cantabria and Castilla León, and smaller numbers in Catalonia, the Comunitat Valenciana, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid and the Principado de Asturias. By the end of 2023 numbers had fallen to head in all, including registered breeding cows and active registered bulls.
The Pirenaica is classified among the "autochthonous breeds in development" by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, the Spanish ministry of agriculture, and thus at less risk of extinction.