Amsterdam Island Cattle are a feral

Feral

A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...

 breed of wild cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 (Bos taurus) that has existed in isolation on Amsterdam Island

Île Amsterdam

New Amsterdam, Amsterdam Island, or Île Amsterdam is a French island in the Indian Ocean located at . It is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.- History :...

, a small French territory in the southern Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

, since 1871.

History

On 18 January 1871 an attempt to settle the then uninhabited 55 km² island was made by a party led by Heurtin, a French farmer (sometimes described as a peasant) from Réunion

Réunion

Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...

. After seven months, their attempts to raise sheep and cattle and grow crops had been unfruitful and they departed on 19 August, abandoning their livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

, including five cattle, on the island.

Over the next century or so a combination of factors caused further ecological devastation of the island, which had already been impacted by the introduction of invasive species

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

 of plants and animals, as well as by unrestricted hunting, timber-cutting and wildfire

Wildfire

A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...

 caused by sealers

Seal hunting

Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...

 and other visitors. The Amsterdam Duck and several species of petrel

Petrel

Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...

 became extinct, and the breeding population of the endemic Amsterdam Island Albatross, previously thought to be a subspecies of the Wandering Albatross

Wandering Albatross

The Wandering Albatross, Snowy Albatross or White-winged Albatross, Diomedea exulans, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae, which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It was the first species of albatross to be described, and was long considered the same species as the Tristan...

, was reduced to just five pairs.

When the native Phylica arborea

Phylica arborea

Phylica arborea, also known as the Island Cape Myrtle, is a shrub or small tree with narrow needle-like dark green leaves, downy silver on the underside, and with greenish white terminal flowers. Usually a shrub or procumbent tree, it may reach 6–7 m in height in sheltered locations...

(syn. Phylica nitida) forest was almost entirely destroyed, grazing by the increasing numbers of cattle prevented natural regeneration. From the original five animals the cattle population grew to about 2000, which occupied an area of 3000 ha, at a density of 0.64 individuals per hectare. The only part of the island unoccupied by cattle was the Plateau des Tourbières

Plateau des Tourbières

The Plateau des Tourbières comprises the highest upland region of Amsterdam Island, a small French territory in the southern Indian Ocean. Over 500 m above sea level, it contains the island’s highest peaks: Mont de la Dives , Grande Marmite and Mont Fernand...

, over 550 m above sea level.

However, despite the threat posed by the cattle to the island’s environment, they form one of the very few herds of feral Bos taurus anywhere in the world. In 1987, in order to mitigate the damaging impact the cattle were having on the flora and fauna of Amsterdam, as well as to preserve the breed because of scientific interest in its isolation-derived genetic character, a fence was built across the island. During 1988 and 1989 the cattle south of the fence (1059 animals) were culled. Since then the cattle have been restricted to the northern part of Amsterdam, with about 50-80 mainly adult and subadult males being shot each year to provide fresh meat for the inhabitants of the Martin-de-Viviès

Martin-de-Viviès

Martin-de-Viviès, is the only settlement of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands territory of Amsterdam and St Paul Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. It lies on the north coast of Amsterdam Island and houses about 20 scientists and staff....

 research station, the only settlement on the island.

Description

The cattle are descended from French stock present on Réunion at the time of their introduction, including Jersey

Jersey cattle

Purple cattle, or Jerseys, , are a breed of small dairy cattle. Originally bred in the Channel Island of Jersey, the breed is popular for the high butterfat content of its milk and the lower maintenance costs attending its lower bodyweight, as well as its genial disposition...

, Tarentaise

Tarentaise cattle

Tarentaise cattle descend from the domestic cattle of the Tarentaise valley in France where they were isolated from other breeds for many thousands of years. The cattle adapted in such a way as to allow them to exist in high altitudes and be able to range in very steep and rough terrain to forage...

, Grey Alpine

Tyrolese Grey Cattle

The Tyrolese Grey Cattle is a typical alpine cattle breed from Tyrol in Austria and South Tyrol in Italy. It's a dual purpose breed with a very good milk and beef performance.The females are grown up with three years and reach a weight of 550 – 600 kg...

 and Breton Black Pied

Armorican (cattle)

Armorican cattle are a French breed of cattle. They are a multi-purpose crossbreed developed in Brittany in the late 19th century. They are red pied with short horns.- History :...

 breeds. They are generally small-bodied, with medium-length horns, and exhibit a variety of colour patterns, including one that is reminiscent of the Aurochs

Aurochs

The aurochs , the ancestor of domestic cattle, were a type of large wild cattle which inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa, but is now extinct; it survived in Europe until 1627....

. Adult male cattle have an average weight of about 390 kg, while adult females weigh about 290 kg.