Cuban Criollo
(most common name)

(local/other name):
• Criollo Cubano

The Cuban Criollo has been developed with selective breeding since the 19th century using Criollo cattle and imported zebu and European cattle. Details of breed composition are undocumented but identifiably pure Cuban Criollo are now rare.

Many Cuban Criollo have been replaced by single-purpose imported beef and dairy breeds. The breeding area of the Cuban Criollo is now concentrated in the province of Oriente in the eastern part of Cuba.

The Cuban Criollo is a triple-purpose breed with strains selected for beef and dairy. Cuban Criollo fattening stock have better food conversion and faster growth than imported Brahman zebus.

As a working oxen, the Cuban Criollo is preferred by farmers to zebu/Holstein crosses and to pure zebu because of its resistance to heat and disease. The Cuban Criollo is also easier to work with than zebus.

The Cuban Criollo coat color is a uniform tan with a pink or black muzzle and they can be quite large-bodied. Animals with black noses are considered to be of pure Cuban descent. Some bulls show a marked zebu influence by having a high neck hump and pendulous sheath.

In the Cuban Criollo:
• mitochondrial DNA shows European descent
• Y chromosomal morphology confirms zebu introgression
• certain milk protein genes confirm zebu introgression

Zebu introgression is known to have taken place from Jamaica.

Cuban Criollo that are crossbred with Holsteins are called Taino.

A double-muscled variety of the Cuban Criollo is called Tinima.

This page was last updated on: 2023-05-16

You can also go to:

My Daily Cow® Cuba and read about other Cuban cattle breeds.

The Cow Wall® A-Z Cattle Breed Picture Reference to see other breeds of cattle in the world.