Betizu

For the Basque-language television program, see Betizu (TV program).

The Betizu is a breed of small mountain cattle which live in a semi-feral state in some mountainous parts of the Basque Country in both Spain and France. It is classified as an endangered breed by both the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, the agriculture ministry of Spain,^[6][7] and by the Conservatoire des Races d'Aquitaine in France.^[8]

Betizu

Bull on the slopes of Xoldokogaina [eu]
Conservation status	France: FAO (2007): critical[1]: 41  DAD-IS (2024): at risk/critical[2] Spain: FAO (2007): endangered[1]: 106  DAD-IS (2024): at risk/endangered[3]
Other names	Betizuak[4]: 130
Country of origin	Spain France
Distribution	Bizkaia Gipuzkoa Nafarroa Labourd, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Standard	Gobierno de Navarra (in Spanish)
Use	meat vegetation management
Traits
Weight	Male: 400–500 kg (900–1100 lb) Female: 300–350 kg (700–800 lb)
Height	Male: 130 cm (51 in)[4]: 130  Female: 120 cm (47 in)[4]: 130
Skin colour	creamy white[5]: 61
Coat	russet brown
Horn status	horned
Cattle Bos (primigenius) taurus

It is one of a small number of semi-feral cattle populations in Europe, with the Albera of the Pyrenees, the Monchina of Cantabria, and the Raço di Biòu of the Camargue.^[9]

History

The origins of the Betizu are unknown. The name betizu derives from the Basque: behi izua, 'elusive cow', and distinguishes it from the etxebehi or 'house cow'.^{[5]: 59 [10]} It appears in Basque mythology as Zezengorri ('red bull'), guardian of the treasure of the goddess Mari.^[11]

The Betizu is sometimes believed to be the remnant of an ancient Pyrenean cattle population adapted to survive in marginal mountain terrain;^[5]: 60 or it may derive from animals lost or escaped during the annual transhumance.^[4]: 130

In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed, and in Navarre was listed as such in 2003. At about the same time the Government of Navarre established a conservation herd at the finca of Sastoia in Urraúl Alto, in the comarca of Lumbier; management of the herd was later handed over to the Instituto Navarro de Tecnologías e Infraestructuras Agroalimentarias [es].^[12]

In 2013, the breed population in Navarre was estimated at 254,^[13] while the number in Aquitaine was put at less than 150.^[8] In 2023 a total of 1267 head was reported from Spain, including 688 cows and 50 bulls registered in the herd-book, distributed over 41 herds;^[3] for France a population of 80–100 head was reported.^[2] The conservation status for Spain was listed as "at risk/endangered", while for France it was "at risk/critical".^[3][2]