Campbell Island cattle
A feral herd on a New Zealand island, extinct by about 1984
A feral population of domestic cattle that lived on Campbell Island in New Zealand, descended from animals taken there in 1902 for a farming attempt. Pictures made in 1976 suggested the herd was at least partly shorthorn. The breed is extinct, with the last cattle gone by about 1984.
- Cattle were taken to Campbell Island, New Zealand, in 1902 for a farm attempt
- Ten cows and six bulls were counted on the island by 1910
- About twenty animals held on until the 1970s before a clearing programme
- Pictures from 1976 showed the herd had shorthorn ancestry, at least in part
- The breed is extinct; the last cattle were gone by about 1984
What do Campbell Island cattle cattle look like?
The Campbell Island cattle were a feral form of domestic cattle, Bos taurus, on Campbell Island in New Zealand. Feral here means they lived wild, with nobody tending them, after being left on the island. The breed no longer exists. What is known of their look rests on pictures made in 1976, which showed shorthorn ancestry in the herd at least in part. Counts were always small: ten cows and six bulls were noted in 1910, and around twenty head were still there in the 1970s.
Where does the Campbell Island cattle come from?
Cattle were taken to Campbell Island in 1902 when a farming venture was begun there. Sheep travelled too, along with other farm stock, and the whole plan is described as ill-fated. By 1910 the herd held ten cows and six bulls and was running loose. The venture had come to nothing by 1931, and the animals were left behind. Pictures made in 1976 showed the herd had shorthorn ancestry at least in part.
What the Campbell Island cattle is known for
These animals lived with no one tending them. Once the farming venture failed, the herd stayed on Campbell Island by itself, and about twenty held on there into the 1970s. For more than forty years they lived and bred without any herdsman. A programme to clear introduced livestock from the island then reached them, and the last cattle were gone by roughly 1984.
How the Campbell Island cattle is bred and kept
The herd was never managed as a breed. After 1931 nobody owned or tended the cattle, and they bred on the island without direction, so each generation was simply what the survivors produced. Their ancestry was mixed, at least partly shorthorn, as the 1976 pictures indicated. Numbers stayed low: ten cows and six bulls in 1910, around twenty later on. Nobody kept a herd book, selected them for milk or meat, or moved stock off the island.
Campbell Island cattle, drawn
At a glance: where it belongs
Land and climate
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
By 1910 the herd numbered ten cows and six bulls. Roughly twenty animals were still there in the 1970s. A programme to remove introduced livestock from the island then went ahead, and the cattle were gone by about 1984. The breed is extinct, with no herds elsewhere and no stock sent away after the animals were abandoned in 1931. The Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand is linked with the breed's record.
Questions people ask about Campbell Island cattle
Where do Campbell Island cattle come from?
They come from Campbell Island in New Zealand. Cattle were taken there in 1902 during a farming venture. Their descendants lived loose on the island until the 1970s, and pictures from 1976 link the herd partly to Shorthorn stock.
What were they kept for?
They began as livestock in a farming attempt on Campbell Island that started in 1902. The venture failed by 1931, after which the cattle lived on the island untended until they were cleared out in the 1980s.
Do any Campbell Island cattle still exist?
No. The breed is extinct. A programme to remove introduced livestock from the island took the last of them, and the cattle were gone by about 1984. Some twenty animals had remained in the 1970s, against ten cows and six bulls in 1910.
What did they look like?
Pictures made in 1976 showed that the herd had shorthorn ancestry, at least in part. Those photographs are the main evidence of how the animals looked.
Why did they disappear?
The farming attempt failed by 1931 and the cattle were left behind on the island. Later a programme cleared introduced livestock from Campbell Island, and the cattle were exterminated by about 1984.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Campbell Island cattle", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryCow rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Sizes, colours and customs differ from one herd, valley or breeder to the next. Folk beliefs are described as tradition, never as advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-16.
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