Tipo Carora
A Venezuelan dairy breed, pale fawn or white with black skin
A tropical dairy breed from Venezuela, developed in Lara state during the twentieth century from Criollo stock and Brown Swiss blood. It is white or pale fawn with black skin and a short glossy coat, and is kept for milk and for cross-breeding.
- Developed in Lara state, Venezuela, from the 1930s onward
- Named after the town of Carora, its place of origin
- About 85% of its genetic make-up comes from Brown Swiss
- Roughly 90% of the cattle have a short, glossy coat
- In 2013 there were 13,682 registered cows and 644 bulls
What do Tipo Carora cattle look like?
The Carora is a dairy breed of the taurine sort, from Venezuela. Its skin is black, and the coat laid over it is white or pale fawn. About nine animals in ten carry the slick hair gene passed down from Criollo cattle, so their hair is short and glossy. Breeders keep that look deliberately: a bull whose male calves show he does not carry two copies of the gene is killed. The sleek coat and dark skin are what let these cattle stay cool in hot, humid tropical weather.
Where does the Tipo Carora come from?
The breed belongs to Lara, in west-central Venezuela, and is named after the town of Carora there. Work began in the 1930s. The cow side came from the Amarillo de Quebrada Arriba, a Criollo type already suited to the district's tropical climate; the bulls were Brown Swiss brought in from Europe and North America. In the end roughly 85% of the genetic make-up of the new stock traced to the Brown Swiss. A breeders' association was formed in 1979, and the government granted the breed official recognition in 1982.
What the Tipo Carora is known for
Heat is what this breed was built to handle. The short, glossy hair found on most Caroras, and the black skin beneath it, help the animal cope where monthly averages run from about 22 °C to 38 °C and the air can reach 90% humidity. Breeders treat that coat as essential rather than decorative, removing bulls that fail to pass the slick gene on to their sons.
How the Tipo Carora is bred and kept
Bulls are judged by their male calves: an animal shown not to carry two copies of the slick hair gene does not stay in the herd. A herd-book was set up as part of the genetic improvement programme that followed the 1992 national heritage declaration, and the Venezuelan breeders' association, founded in 1979, looks after the registered stock. Carora bulls and their semen also go out for cross-breeding, giving heat-tolerant dairy animals when used on Holsteins and dual-purpose stock when used on cows of indicine breeds.
Tipo Carora, drawn
What the Tipo Carora is kept for
Milk is the main reason these cattle are kept, and the breed was made for farms in warm countries rather than temperate ones. In 1998 the average cow gave 3180 kg of milk across a lactation of 305 days, with milk protein around 3.7%. The bulls, and semen taken from them, are widely used in crossing: put to Holstein cows they produce dairy animals that stand heat better, and put to cows of indicine breeds they produce cattle kept for both milk and meat.
The land and climate of the Tipo Carora
These are cattle for the hot, wet tropics. In the part of Venezuela where the breed began, monthly average temperatures sit between roughly 22 °C and 38 °C, and the air can be 90% humid. The short, glossy coat, together with black skin, is what allows the animals to shed heat in such weather. Breeders chose for that coat on purpose, which shows how closely the climate has shaped the breed.
At a glance: where it belongs
Land and climate
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
Registered stock in 2013 came to 644 bulls and 13,682 cows. Numbers had fallen sharply during the 1980s. That decline is part of why Venezuela named the breed a national heritage in 1992, and why a herd-book and a genetic improvement programme followed. The Venezuelan breeders' association, started in 1979, keeps the register, and the FAO listed the Tipo Carora as extinct in 2007.
From the Tipo Carora
Questions people ask about Tipo Carora
Where does the Carora come from?
Venezuela. It was developed in Lara state, in the west-central part of the country, and takes its name from the town of Carora there. Breeding work began in the 1930s.
What is the Carora kept for?
Milk. It was made to be a dairy breed that performs in tropical heat. In 1998 cows averaged 3180 kg of milk over a 305-day lactation, with milk protein around 3.7%. Bulls are also used for crossing with other breeds.
Why is its coat so short?
Most Caroras carry the slick hair gene from Criollo cattle, so roughly 90% have a short, glossy coat. That coat, with their black skin, helps them stay cool where humidity reaches 90% and monthly temperatures run from 22 °C to 38 °C.
Which breeds went into the Carora?
The cow side came from the Amarillo de Quebrada Arriba, a Criollo cattle of the district. Brown Swiss bulls brought from Europe and North America supplied the rest. Roughly 85% of the resulting genetic make-up was Brown Swiss.
Is the Carora at risk?
Registers in 2013 held 13,682 cows and 644 bulls, after numbers fell sharply in the 1980s. Venezuela named the breed a national heritage in 1992. The FAO listed the Tipo Carora as extinct in 2007.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Tipo Carora", 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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