Longhorn cattle

Longhorn cattle can be many colours but they are almost always brindle (splattered/stripey) with a white line down the spine. They have long backs and can have very impressive horns.

Originally a very slow, heavy draft animal, longhorn cattle have a placid temperament and meander through reserves in a bulldozer-like fashion, using their weight and horns to break through dense vegetation. This helps to diversify single-age scrub and vast bramble blocks.

Long-living and happy to eat a wide variety of woody vegetation, longhorn cattle are one of the bigger native breeds. Bulls can be up to 1000kgs, taking a long time to become fully mature, and the species as a whole requires more food than some smaller breeds in order to support its size. 

Longhorn cattle have joined European bison, Exmoor ponies and Iron-Age pigs at West Blean and Thornden Woods, as part of our groundbreaking Wilder Blean project. Find out more about these species and the project below: