ZooBorns

There's a New Texan in Town

There's a new Texan in town, with big brown eyes, a white speckled coat, and a frisky gait. The Queens Zoo's longhorn calf lives with her mom and brother on the zoo's Farm exhibit. She seems particularly fond of her neighbors, the Scottish highland cows, who share her barnyard home.  

The female calf was born in May to Joan, a 7-year-old cow. The calf weighed 60 pounds at birth and is active and energetic. 

Texas longhorns are a domestic breed of cattle that developed as a result of cross breeding between feral and domestic cattle and are a popular symbol of the American Southwest.

Texas longhorns are known for their beauty and intelligence, and are named for their signature horns that can extend up to 6 feet from tip to tip. These hardy animals thrive in the Southwest's rugged terrain, and are the foundation stock of the region’s cattle industry. 

Photo Credit:  Julie Larsen Maher

Little Black Calf with Four White Socks

On the Family Farm at Ireland's Dublin Zoo, Bella, a Friesian cow, gave birth to a healthy male calf. The baby was born early on the morning of January 25, and he was nursing within three hours. This is Bella’s second calf. Team leader Eddie O’Brien describes the newborn as being jet black, except for a white star on his forehead, and four white socks. The breed’s characteristic black patches can be replaced with an orangey-tan color found in a minority of the cows; they are called "reds".

A Friesian cow can refer to any of a number of black-and-white spotted dairy cattle - Dutch, Swedish, British and the commonly known American. Friesian breeds are commonly known as Holstein cattle, recognized for good milk production. They are found all over the world, from New Zealand to Canada.

Photo Credit: Dublin Zoo