 Cow and calf | |
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Distribution | fifteen states, from the eastern seaboard toMontana |
| Use |
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| Traits | |
| Weight |
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| Coat | very variable |
| Horn status | horned in both sexes |
| |
TheFlorida Cracker orFlorida Scrub is an Americanbreed ofcattle. It originated inSpanish Florida and later in the American state ofFlorida[5][6][7] and is named for theFlorida cracker culture in which it was kept. It is one of theCriollo breeds that descend from the Spanish cattle originally brought to the Americas by the SpanishConquistadors; among the other North American breeds in this group are thePineywoods, theCorriente andTexas Longhorn.[8]: 87 Unlike the Pineywoods – to which it is closely related – the Florida Cracker has not been inter-bred with breeds of North European origin.[8]: 119
The Florida Cracker, like otherCriollo cattle, derives from cattle brought by theConquistadores from Spain to the Americas from 1493 onwards; these numbered no more than 300 head in all and were brought toHispaniola and other Caribbean islands. Cattle fromCuba were landed inSpanish Florida in 1565, and there was another shipment from the same source in 1640.[7]: 277 By the beginning of the 18th century the number of cattle in the Spanish part of what is now the United States – Florida and parts of modernAlabama,Georgia andMississippi – was estimated at between15000 and20000 head.[7]: 277 These were triple-purpose cattle, reared for meat, for milk and fordraft work. They were managedextensively, living insemi-feral conditions for much of the time.[9]: 177 [7]: 277
The cattle were the principal breed in the state until the early 20th century, when heat-tolerantzebuine cattle such as theBrahman began to arrive, soon followed bytaurine cattle of European origin. By the middle of the century indiscriminatecross-breeding of these with the Cracker cattle had brought the Florida breed to the point of disappearance;[9]: 177 [3] after 1949 laws relating to free-roaming livestock also contributed to the rapid decline of the Florida Cracker.[8]: 119 The Florida state government has been active in theconservation of the breed since the 1970s; abreed society, the Florida Cracker Cattle Association, was formed in 1989 with the support of the state, and in 1991 aherd-book was established.[9]: 177 [3]
In 2010 the breed population was about 1,300 head, with some 500 breeding cows and about 150 bulls;[9]: 177 in 2022 the number was estimated to be between 2,500 and 5,000 head.[2] Theconservation status of the breed is listed as 'threatened' byThe Livestock Conservancy.[3] The Florida Cracker is included in theArk of Taste of the internationalSlow Food Foundation.[10] In 2018 it was declared theofficial state heritage cattle breed.[11]
The cattle are generally small, with weights in the range 360–550 kg (800–1200 lb) for bulls and 270–360 kg (600–800 lb) for cows; in the past there was a still smaller or dwarf type within the breed, known as the Guinea, which weighed about 230 kg (500 lb) or less.[9]: 177 [3] Coat color and pattern is highly variable; the predominant coat types depend partly on the geographical area: solid blacks, duns and reds, with or without brindling, are more common in southern Florida, whilecolor-sided,finched, roan and spotted patterns are more often seen in the northern part of the state.[9]: 177 Horns are also variable in both shape and size, and naturallypolled animals also occur.[3]
