The project is kindly supported by: Margarethe & Rudolf Gsell-Stiftung, Basel; Parrotia Stiftung, Zurich (both Switzerland) and Gerda Techow Stiftung, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Feral Populations: Breeds and Occurrence in Europe

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Thumbnail Country Species Local name Location Description

Guessinger_Waldschweinthumbnail.jpg

Austria Pig Güssinger Waldschwein  
South Burgenland
 
This pig breed once was bred from wild boar and domestic pigbredds "Duroc" and "Schwäbisch-Hällische ... 

Heck_Cattle_ in_Oostvaardersplassenthumbnail.jpg

Belgium Cattle Heck Cattle  
Parc animalier de Bouillon, SW Belgium
 
... 

Hutovo_Blatothumbnail.jpg

Bosnia-Hercegovina Horse Hutovo-Blato Horse  
Hutovo-Blato
 
... 

Livno_wild_horsesthumbnail.jpg

Bosnia-Hercegovina Horse Livno wild horses  
Mountains 10km north of Livno
 
... 

Rhodope_Horsethumbnail.jpg

Bulgaria Cattle Rhodope  
Central and Eastern Rodopy Mountains, Smolian, Lovetch District, Central Balkan, Apriltzi, Teteven, Kaloffer
 
... 

feral_Karakachanhorse_thumbnail.jpg

Bulgaria Horse Karakachan Horse  
Alpine mountin pastures of Rila Mtn., Pirin Mtn., central part of Stara planina Mtn., western part of Rhodope Mtn.
 
... 

Cavallo_de_Bisbinothumbnail.jpg

Switzerland Horse Cavallo del Bisbino  
Monte Generoso, Italy/Switzerland
 
Need for extra food in winter otherwsie they come down into villages to search for food ... 

Karpaz_Donkeythumbnail.jpg

Cyprus Ass Karpaz  
Karpaz Peninsula
 
The impact on the vegetation is unknown but the population density is very high with 7 donkeys/km2. ... 

HeckHorses-Austriathumbnail.jpg

Germany Horse Heck Horse  
 
... 

feral_Dülmener_Wildpferd_thumbnail.jpg

Germany Horse Dülmener Wildpferd  
Dülmem
 
... 

feral_Flällrind_Wikipedia_thumbnail.jpg

Germany Cattle Fjällcattle  
Müritz Nationalpark
 
... 

Przewalski_Horse2thumbnail.jpg

Germany Horse Przewalski  
near Leipzig (also Parc du Villaret, Causse Mejean, Lozere, France)
 
... 

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Germany Horse Senner Pferde  
Paderborn, Westphalia
 
... 

Heck_Cattle2thumbnail.jpg

Germany Cattle Heck Cattle  
several natur reserves in germany. e.g.: Falkenthaler Rieselfelder near Berlin. There are also Heck Cattle at the Nesseaue nature reserve near Jena, Thuringia and at the Grubenfelder Leonie nature reseve in Auerbach, Bavaria.
 
Heck cattle are a hardy breed of domestic cattle. These cattle are the result of an attempt to breed ... 
Germany Horse Liebenthaler Perd  
Brandenburg, Liebenthal
 
In 1960, the Bavarian farmer and ethologist Jürgen Zutz wanted to resurrect the European Tarpan to ... 

Sasi_Ardithumbnail.jpg

Spain Sheep Sasi Ardi  
Basque Country, Oiartzun to Leizaran and from Hernani to Goizueta between Gipuzkoa and Nafarroa
 
... 

Soraia_Ponythumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Sorraia  
Iberia, org. Portuguese river Sorraia
 
... 

feral_Gallega_thumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Caballo de Pura Raza Gallega  
Galicia
 
... 

feral_Caballo_de_las_Retuertas_thumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Retuerta horse  
Andalusia
 
... 

Jaca_Navarrathumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Jaca Navarro  
Navarre
 
low population numbers ... 

feral_VacaMarismena2_thumbnail.jpg

Spain Cattle Marismeña  
Andalucía, Nature Area Doñana
 
Conflict with other protected species, e.g Águila Imperial (Aquila adalberti) ... 

feral_Marismena_thumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Caballo Marismeno  
Andalucía, Nature Area Doñana
 
Conflict with other protected species, e.g Águila Imperial (Aquila adalberti) ... 

Monchina_cattlethumbnail.jpg

Spain Cattle Monchina  
SW Viscaya, SE Santander, Bizkaia en Euskadi and Cantabria
 
... 

Monchino_Horsethumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Monchino Horse  
Cantabria
 
no interest in conserving the breed. No herd book, no conservation programme ... 

Mostrencathumbnail.jpg

Spain Cattle Mostrenca  
Donana Nat. Park, S. Huelva, Spain
 
... 

Losino1thumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Losina  
Northern Spain
 
low population numbers ... 

Pottokthumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Pottock Horse  
originally: Basque Country now found in :Spain, France. Switzerland, Germany
 
framentation of the landscape, changes in agriculture ... 

feral_Betizu_Spain_tthumbnail.jpg

Spain Cattle Betizu  
Basque mountains, NavarreseN-Spain
 
... 

Asturcon-Ponythumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Asturcon Pony  
N. Spain, Asturia
 
... 

Alberes_Cattlethumbnail.jpg

Spain Cattle Albéres  
Albères Mountains and eastern Pyrenees of France and Spain
 
The intrusion of the indigenous cows Alberes into inhabited areas because they were hungry led to lo ... 

Burguete_de_Navarrathumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Burgette de Navarra  
Region Burguete, Navarra
 
... 

majorerathumbnail.jpg

Spain Ass Burro Majorero  
Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, some on other Canary Islands
 
Population decreasing as donkeys are no longer needed for work. Reduction to pet/zoo animal. ... 

Caballo_de_las_Retuertas_Juanvithumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Caballo de las Retuertas  
Andalucía, Nature Area Doñana
 
Conflict with other protected species, e.g Águila Imperial (Aquila adalberti) ... 

Pais_Vascothumbnail.jpg

Spain Horse Caballo de Monte del País Vasco  
mountains of Alava, Basque Country
 
lowering population numbers ... 

Cabra_Majojera_de_Costathumbnail.jpg

Spain Goat Cabra Majorera de Costa  
Fuerteventura Island (Canary Islands, Spain)
 
... 

Cabra_Mallorquinathumbnail.jpg

Spain Goat Cabra Mallorquina  
Mallorca
 
There is some hybridisation of the wild goats with goats from Mallorca farms closer to the mountains ... 

Camargue_Bullthumbnail.jpg

France Cattle Camargue Cattle  
Parc naturel régional de Camargue
 
... 

Camargue_Horsethumbnail.jpg

France Horse Camargue Horse  
Parc naturel régional de Camargue
 
... 

Alberes_Cattlethumbnail.jpg

France Cattle Albéres  
Vallespir, the Albères Mountains and Eastern Pyrenees of France and Spain
 
In the prefecture Perpignan in some villages cattle attacks take place during the winter when cattle ... 

Betiz_Cattlethumbnail.JPG

France Cattle Betizu  
West of French Pyrenees : French Basque Country (north part of the Basque country is in France, south part in Spain) , Department : Pyrénées Atlantiques
 
In winter isolated individuals (young males for example ) sometimes go down from the mountains to ge ... 

Pottokthumbnail.jpg

France Horse Pottok  
France
 
... 

Vache_Marinethumbnail.jpg

France Cattle Marine Landaise  
Aquitaine, SW France
 
The population has been protected and managed for 25 years. The major problem is to develop this v ... 

Saanen_goat_on_Holy_Isle1thumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Goat Saanan-type  
Scotland, Holy Isle
 
... 

Howgill_Hillls_Ponythumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Horse Howgills Hills  
Howgills Fells, Cumbria, England
 
... 

Scotish_Wild_Goatthumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Goat Feral goat  
Scottish Highlands
 
... 

Stackpole_feral_Goatthumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Goat Stackpole Feral Goat  
Stackpole, Wales
 
... 

Snowdonia_Feral_Billygoatthumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Goat Snowdonia Feral goat  
Snowdonia, Wales
 
Free roaming dangerous for traffic, destruction of young trees and gardens, grazing in commenrcial s ... 

Lynton_feral_Goatsthumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Goat Lynton Feral goat  
Lynton, Exmoor, England
 
... 

Bagot_Goatthumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Goat Bagot  
Blithfield Hall, Staffordshire, England.
 
very small population ... 

Boreray-ramsthumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Sheep Boreray  
Boreray, Scottish Island, St Kilda Archipelago
 
... 

Carneddau_Ponythumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Horse Carneddau Welsh Mountain,  
Wales, UK
 
... 

chillingham_Cattlethumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Cattle Chillingham  
Northumberland
 
Lives in 134 hectares of parkland near the Scottish border. Ancient history – maybe dates back to w ... 

Eriskay_Poniesthumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Horse Eriskay Pony  
Holy Isle, outer Hebrides, Scotland
 
... 

Welsh_Mountain_Pony1thumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Horse Welsh Mountain Pony  
Wales, UK
 
... 
United Kingdom Horse Welsh Mountain Pony  
Wales, UK
 
... 

Soay_Sheep2thumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Sheep Soay  
Scotland, St Kilda Archipelago (orig.), island of Hirta, Holy Isle
 
... 
United Kingdom Horse New Forest pony  
New Forest, England
 
All of the ponies found in the forest are wild in the sense they can roam freely but in fact they ar ... 

feral_Swona_Cattle_thumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Cattle Swona Cattle  
Swona island, Orkney
 
People left the island in 1974, tended the cattle there till 1978. Since then they are free ranging. ... 

feral_Vaynol_Cattle_thumbnail.jpg

United Kingdom Cattle Vaynol Cattle  
Lonconshire
 
The herd was established in 1872 in Vaynol Park, North Wales, adjacent to the Isle of Anglesey. Befo ... 

Serres_Horsethumbnail.jpg

Greece Horse Serres  
Serres: Menikio mountains (Bosdakas)
 
... 

Greek_Schorthornthumbnail.jpg

Greece Cattle Agrinion Cattle  
Etoloakarnania area, Western Greece
 
This particular breed receives very little attention from its owners. A large danger of cross-breedi ... 

feral_Samothraki1_thumbnail.jpg

Greece Goat Samothraki  
Samothraki island, Northern Aegean Sea
 
A typical example for semi-feral or feral conditions of keeping breeds on islands in Greece: Since G ... 
Greece Horse Neochori Horse  
Etoloakarnania area, Western Greece
 
conflict with neighbouring farms: Animals enter farmsteads etc. and cause damage, no medical or oth ... 

Creta_ Goatthumbnail.jpg

Greece Goat Cretan Wild Goat  
Crete
 
... 

Axios_Horse2thumbnail.jpg

Greece Horse Axios  
Axios and Aliakmon rivers near Thessaloniki
 
Although Axios Delta has been declared a National Park, there are many farms with bovine and other f ... 
Greece Horse Amvrakikos Horse  
Epiros, Amvrakikos
 
... 

feral_Acheloos_Cattle_thumbnail.jpg

Greece Cattle Acheloos  
West Etoloakarnania, Epirus
 
... 

feral_Acheloos_J_Menegatos_thumbnail.jpg

Greece Horse Acheloos  
West Etoloakarnania, Epirus, Delta of Acheloos river
 
... 

Petala_Horsethumbnail.jpg

Greece Horse Petala monutain horse  
Mountainous region between cities of Amphilochia and Agrinio
 
... 

Agrinion_pig1thumbnail.jpg

Greece Pig Agrinion pig  
Etoloakarnania area, Western Greece
 
The breed will disappear because crossings with other types. ... 

Ainos_Ponythumbnail.jpg

Greece Horse Ainos  
Kefalonia Island, Ainos Mountains
 
... 
Greece Horse Kalamas Delta Horse  
Delta of Kalama river near Igoumenitsa
 
... 
Greece Horse Evros  
Delta of Evros river
 
... 
Greece Horse Drama  
Pagaio mountain (Drama)
 
... 

Ikaria_Goatthumbnail.jpg

Greece Goat Ikaria  
E-Aegean sea, S-Sporades
 
... 

feral_Rhodope_Horse_thumbnail.jpg

Greece Horse Rodope  
Northern mountainous communities of Rodopi and Xanthi mountains in Thrace.
 
... 

Prespa_Cattle_greecethumbnail.jpg

Greece Cattle Prespa Cattle  
Prespa
 
Colour: blond, darkblond, reddish blond, all cours of brown and also black; Coat: darker along the s ... 

Fertohasag_Grey_Cattlethumbnail.jpg

Hungary Cattle Hungarian Grey Cattle  
Sarród-Mekszikópuszta, Hanság, Tóköz
 
none ... 

Black_Slavonian_pigthumbnail.jpg

Croatia Pig Black Slavonian Pig  
E-Croatia, Slavonia, lowland regions
 
... 
Croatia Cattle Domestic cattle  
Slivno, Neretva Delta
 
In winter the cows plunder olive plantations, tearing the reachable branches and eat the green leave ... 

feral_Asinara_grey_donkey_thumbnail.jpg

Italy Ass Grey Asinara Donkey  
 
The Sardinian breeds, Asinara and Sardo Grigio, shared some distinctive genetic traits that separate ... 

feral_Capra_di_Caprera_thumbnail.jpg

Italy Goat Caprera goat  
Caprera Island, Maddalena archipelago
 
Group of feral goats with morphological traits very similar to the Sardinian Goat breed.

U ... 

feral_Capra_di_Molara_thumbnail.jpg

Italy Goat Molara Goat  
Molara Island; off the North-West coast of Sardinia
 
A group of feral goats very similar to Sardinian Goat breed lives on the Island, but no precise info ... 

feral_Capra_Garganica_thumbnail.jpg

Italy Goat Garganica Goat  
Isole Tremiti are an archipelago in the Adriatic Sea, north of the Gargano Peninsula
 
Very little information about this goat population that could have been recently introduced in the I ... 

feral_Muflon_Italy_thumbnail.jpg

Italy Sheep Muflon  
 
Mouflon were introduced to the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Rhodes and Cyprus during the neolithic ... 

San_Fratellothumbnail.jpg

Italy Horse Sanfratello  
San Fratello, Messina, Sicily, Italy
 
... 

feral_Asinara_white_donkey_thumbnail.jpg

Italy Ass Asino Asinara  
Asinara island; Sardinia, Tuscany and Emilia
 
The Sardinian breeds, Asinara and Sardo Grigio, shared some distinctive genetic traits that separate ... 

feral_Capra_di_tavolara1_thumbnail.jpg

Italy Goat Tavolara  
Isleand of Tavolara, N of Sardinia
 
This goat are on the island of Tavolara (N-Sardinia. This breed is originated from Capra aegagrus (E ... 

Argentatadelletnathumbnail.jpg

Italy Goat Argentata dell´Etna  
Messina, Catania, Enna and Palermo
 
... 

Giara_di_Gesturithumbnail.jpg

Italy Horse Giara Pony  
plateau of Giara - Sardinia south central, Sa Jara Manna
 
... 

Cabra_di_Montechristothumbnail.jpg

Italy Goat Montecristo Goat  
Montecristo Island, Tuscany Archipelago National Park.
 
... 

Nebrodi_pigthumbnail.jpg

Italy Pig Nero Siciliano  
North East Coast of Sicily
 
... 

Wicklow_feral_Goatthumbnail.jpg

Ireland Goat Feral goat  
Killarney, the Burren and Glendalough, smaller populations in areas such as the Mournes, Connemara and Waterford.
 
... 

feral_Bilberry_Goat_thumbnail.jpg

Ireland Goat Bilberry Goat  
Bilberry Rock, Waterford, Ireland
 
1,000 feral goats have been destroyed in Ireland every week. The Bilberry Goats are part of a projec ... 

feral_Burren_Goat_thumbnail.jpg

Ireland Goat Burren Goat  
Burren National Park
 
... 

Konik_Horse_Polandthumbnail.jpg

Latvia Horse Konik polski  
25 areas through out Latvia and one in Estonia
 
Natural grazing is a new concept in Latvia as well as in big parts of the European Union. Neverthele ... 

Scutari_Wild_Horsesthumbnail.jpg

Montenegro Horse Scutari  
Lake Scutari National Park
 
... 

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Norway Sheep Gammelnorsk sau  
islands at the west coast from Bergen to Trondheim
 
... 

Nordfjordthumbnail.jpg

Norway Goat Feral goat  
Selje (an island at the western coast of Norway), also a few herds at the islands Skorpa and Sandsøy in the county Møre and Romsdal
 
inbreeding ... 

Heck_Cattle_Internetthumbnail.jpg

Netherlands Cattle Heck Cattle  
Oostvaardersplassen, Flevoland near Lelvstad
 
... 

Raca_Garrano_Portugal_1thumbnail.jpg

Portugal Horse Equino de Raça Garrana  
Northern Portugal mainly in the regions of Minho, Tras-os-Montes and Geres as well as in parts of the Spanish Galicia
 
... 

Sorraia_Ponythumbnail.jpg

Portugal Horse Sorraia  
 
Year-round grazing was accepted by involved farmers and nature organisations quit easily, especially ... 

FP_312feral_Deserta_Grande_GoatandYoung.jpg

Portugal Goat Deserta Grande Goat  
Deserta Grande, Madeira Archipelago
 
The Restoration of the original islands habitat projects include the total eradication of this feral ... 

Konik_horsethumbnail.jpg

Poland Horse Konik  
forest of Bialowieza (also found near Maastricht, the Netherlands, in Latvia, Wicken Fen, Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve, Ham Fen National Nature Reserve, Whitehall Meadow, Sandwich Bay and Park Gate Down, Redgrave and Lopham Fen, UK and Emsauen, , Steveraue, Ilkerbruch, in Germany)
 
... 

Letea_Forest_Horsesthumbnail.jpg

Romania Horse Letea  
Danube Delta, Romania
 
The horses are kept both feral and semi-feral, because some horses are caught by locals when needed, ... 

Sampasthumbnail.jpg

Serbia Horse Sampas  
Region Vlasina, Vlasnia Lake, Central-Serbia, Eastern Kosovo
 
... 

Horse_group_Ivanovthumbnail.jpg

Serbia Horse Stara Planina Mountain Pony  
Stara Planina Mountain
 
... 
Serbia Horse Suva Planina Mountain Pony  
Suva Planina Mountain, Stolovi Mountain
 
... 

feral_Vlasina_Mountain_Horse_thumbnail.jpg

Serbia Horse Vlasina Mountain Pony  
Vlasina area
 
...