Caracu
{{Short description|Brazilian breed of cattle}}
{{Infobox cattle breed
| name = Caracu
| image = Boi caracu no pasto (cropped).JPG
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| status = {{ubl|FAO (2007): not at risk{{r|barb|p=11}}|DAD-IS (2022): not at risk{{r|dad}}}}
| altname =
| country = Brazil
| distribution =
| standard =
| use = beef
| weight =
| maleweight = 950–1200 kg{{r|cabi|p=149}}}
| femaleweight = 550–650 kg{{r|cabi|p=149}}}
| height =
| maleheight = average 143 cm{{r|dad}}}
| femaleheight = average 135 cm{{r|dad}}}
| skincolour =
| coat = uniform red in any shade
| horn = horned, sometimes polled
| subspecies = taurus
| note =
}}
The Caracu is a Brazilian breed of beef cattle.{{r|evora}} It is a Criollo breed, derived from European cattle brought to Brazil by the conquistadors; it has little or no zebuine influence.{{r|enc}} It was originally a triple-purpose breed, used for draught work and transport, for meat and for milk; in the twenty-first century it is reared principally for beef, but there are also dairy lines. It has contributed to the development of a number of other breeds, among them the Caldeano.{{r|felius}} It is closely similar to the Mocho Nacional, a polled breed, and it is probable that the two will be merged.
History
The Caracu derives from cattle brought from Portugal to Brazil by the conquistadors from 1532 onwards.{{r|cabi|p=149}} It is not known of what type these were, but they may have been similar to the modern Alentejana, Arouquesa, Barrosã, Minhota or Mirandesa breeds.{{r|enc|p=170}}
The Caracu originated in the southern part of Minas Gerais, and later spread into the state of São Paulo.{{r|cabi|p=149}} An early description is that of Nicolas Athanassof in 1911.{{r|enc|p=170}} A breed association, the {{lang|pt|italic=no|Associação Brasileira de Criadores de Caracu}}, was formed in 1916.{{r|abcc}}
In 1913 an influential book by Eduardo Cotrim on cattle-rearing in Brazil, with many colour illustrations, was published in Brussels.{{r|dzo|cotrim}} It was highly critical of both Brazilian methods and Brazilian cattle, and may have initiated a decline in numbers of the Caracu, which fell steeply during much of the twentieth century as a result of cross-breeding with zebuine or other taurine breeds, coming close to the point of extinction.{{r|cabi|p=149|dzo}}
In 1976 the Instituto de Zootecnia of Sertãozinho, in the state of São Paulo, added the Caracu to its research programme; in 1980 the breed association, which had been dormant since 1960, became active again.{{r|dzo}} Numbers increased rapidly: from 12,000 in 1979, the population rose to about 31,000 head in 1994, and to over 85,000 in 2010.{{r|cabi|p=149|dad}} In 2020 the total number reported was just over 162,000.{{r|dad}}
References
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{{Cattle breeds of Brazil}}