Iskar
(most common name in English)

(most common name):
• Iskarsko govedo
• Isk"rsko govedo
• Иск"рско говедо
local/other name:
• Bulgarian Grey
• Bulgarian Steppe
• Bulgarisches Grauvieh (= Grey Native cattle, German)
• Grey Native cattle
• Grey Iskar
• Iskar Grey
• Iskar grise (French)
• l’Isker grise (Mali)
• Sivo mestno govedo (= Grey Native cattle)
• Vit

The Iskar is a Podolian-Illyrian breed that is a larger lowland variety of the Bulgarian Grey (Balgarsk govedoo sivo).

The Iskar was saved from extinction by the creation of government-financed herds. As of 2018, DAD-IS lists the Iskar as a separate breed from the Bulgarian Grey.

The Iskar is found in the following provinces:
• Plovdiv (south central) - containing parts of the Upper Thracian Plain, the Rhodope Mountains, the Sredna Gora mountains, the Sub-Balkan valleys and Stara Planina (the Balkan Mountains).
• Haskovo (south central) - containing parts of the Thracian valley along the river Maritsa; borders Turkey and Greece.
• Smolyan (south central) - containing the Rhodope Mountains; borders Greece.
• Stara Zagora (south central) is where the oldest Neolithic remains have been found.
• Burgas (south eastern) - with the southern part of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast; borders Turkey.

Podolian-Illyrian cattle breeds are Podolian Grey Steppe cattle that have been mixed with Illyrian Shorthorn cattle.

Podolian-Illyrian cattle breeds are smaller in size and have shorter horns but still resemble Podolian Grey Steppe cattle.

This page was last updated on: 2024-07-09

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