Fjäll

The Fjäll (Swedish: Fjällko or Svensk fjällras) is a traditional Swedish breed of polled mountain cattle. It was threatened with extinction in the 1970s and 1980s, but recovered after a breed association was formed in 1995, partly thanks to stocks of frozen semen. Microsatellite analysis has shown it to be closely related to the endangered Bohuskulla breed.^[5]: 1775

Fjäll

A heifer
Conservation status	FAO (2007): not at risk[1]: 136
Other names	Swedish: Fjällko Swedish: Svensk Fjällras Swedish Mountain[2]
Country of origin	Sweden
Distribution	northern Sweden[3]
Use	dairy
Traits
Weight	Male: 650–800 kg[4] Female: 450 kg[4]
Height	Male: 135–140 cm[4] Female: 125 cm[4]
Coat	variable
Horn status	polled
Cattle Bos primigenius

Image from Gustav Sundbärg, Sweden, 1904

History

There have long been small polled mountain cattle in Sweden. A text from 1296 AD describes cattle that are "small, hornless, white or whitish grey, often with dark spots".^[6]: 68

The Fjällras was established as a breed in the nineteenth century.^[4] A herd-book was started in 1907.^[3]

The traditional mountain cattle breeds were very variable. In 1937 a new breed, the Swedish Polled (Swedish: Svensk kullig boskap or SKB) was created with the intention of merging the Fjällras with the Swedish Red Polled (Swedish: Rödkulla), a quite different breed of mountain cattle.^{[7]: 307 [3]} However, breeders did not accept the new classification, and continued to maintain separate bloodlines as before.^{[8]: 12–13 [9][10]} During the 1970s and 1980s indiscriminate cross-breeding placed the breed in danger of extinction.^[4] A breeders' association, the Föreningen Svensk Fjällrasavel, was established in 1996;^[8]: 13 a similar association, the Sveriges Rödkulleförening, had formed for the Rödkulla in the 1960s.^[8]: 13

Stocks of frozen semen from pure-bred Fjällras bulls born in the mid-twentieth century helped in the recovery of the breed, and allowed the effective population size to be increased.^[4] In 1996 it was estimated that there were approximately 400 Fjällras cows.^[2] In 2012 a total population of 6836 head was reported.^[3]

The traditional Fjäll has divided into two sub-breeds, the Svensk Fjällras^[3] and the Fjällnära Boskap.^[11]

Characteristics

The coat colour of the Fjällras is variable: it may be almost white; white speckled with red or black; colour-sided red or black with finching; or, occasionally, solid red, black or – more rarely – grey. The skin is white.^[4] The cattle are well adapted to the mountain environment and forage well on poor pasture.^[12][13]

Use

The Fjällras is principally a dairy breed. Average milk yield is approximately 5500 kg of milk per lactation; some cows may give 11000–12000 kg. The milk has a high butter-fat content, approximately 4.5%, and a protein content of about 3.6%; it is particularly rich in κ-casein B and is suitable for making cheese.^[12]