Texas Longhorn cattle are an iconic breed of cattle whose existence is the result of centuries of history. However, the most significant advance in understanding the actual history of this breed of cattle came about in 2013 when a Emily McTavish, a PhD student at the Univerisity of Texas College of Natural Sciences, published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Analyzing over 50,000 DNA markers from 58 breeds of cattle, this study literally decoded the mystery.
The study answers a number of questions that we’ve simplified in the Q&A below.
Texas lonhorn cattle originaed from an Iberian hybrid cattle consisting of 85% Middle Eastern taurine and 15% Indian indicine cattle.
In 2013 researchers from the University of Texas released a study in which 50,000 DNA markers were studied from 58 types of cattle that scientifically proved the origins and migration path of Texas Longhorn cattle.
Historical documents and DNA research prove that the first Texas longhorn cattle were picked up in the Canary Islands by Columbus and released on Hispaniola on his second voyage in 1492.
Columbus brought Longhorns to Hispaniola when he landed there on December 6, 1492. Today Hispaniola is divided between the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
In 1521, Spanish sea captain Gregorio de Villalobos, transported 6 Longhorn cows and a single Longhorn bull from Santo Domingo to Veracruz, Mexico. source: History.Net
In 1690 the first Texas Longhorn cattle migrated from Mexico to what is now the State of Texas.
Columbus brought Texas Longhorn cattle to Hispaniola in 1492.