October 4, 1997

Dying Breeds

Livestock are developing a largely unrecognized biodiversity crisis

Florida Cracker Cattle. Able to withstand the Southeast’s blazing heat and humid climate, this bovine’s hardiness made it one of two breeds that founded Florida’s beef industry. In the 1930s, breeders crossed the animals with imported Zebu cattle to form a more robust carcass that retained the Cracker’s original high resistance to parasites. The new crossbreed proved so appealing to cattlemen that the Cracker soon fell from favor. Its surviving population now appears to number fewer than 1,000 animals.

Credit: D.P. Sponenberg, courtesy ALBC