The Mertolenga is a Portuguese breed of cattle. It is named for the concelho of Mértola in south-eastern Alentejo, bordering with Spain.[3]: 242 In 2003 it was one of thirteen registered Portuguese cattle breeds, constituting approximately 19 per cent of cattle in the country.[4]
History
The Mertolenga originated as a colour variant within the Alentejana cattle of Alentejo in south-eastern Portugal, identified in 1873.[3]: 242 It derives in part from the Spanish Berrenda en Colorado.[5]: 302
The breed region is circumscribed almost exclusively to southern Portugal in the Low Alentejo, and Ribatejo regions.
Characteristics
Use
The Mertolenga was originally used principally for draught work in the rice fields of Alentejo. It was also used to assist in moving and handling fighting cattle, in the same way that the Berrenda en Colorado is used in Spain.[3]: 242 In the twenty-first century it is reared for beef, some of which is marketed as Carne Mertolenga, which has Denominação de Origem Protegida status.[3]: 242
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mertolenga.
^data sheet: Mertolenga / Portugal (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed November 2022.
These are the cattle breeds considered in Portugal to be wholly or partly of Portuguese origin. Inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively Portuguese.
