THE ANCIENT BOŠKARIN OX

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2 THE ANCIENT BOŠKARIN OX LOOKING FOR THE IMPRESSIVE ISTRIAN OX, SAVED BY A VETERINARY FROM TRIESTE. GIUSTO DA MAR PHOTO LAMBERTO FANO T he mantle of the adults is milk white; only the mantle of the younger ones is dark. Majestic lyre-shaped horns, topped with brass balls, remind us of its mythological progenitor - the Minotaur. The large neck and powerful shoulders, slow, majestic gait and imposing heft (a young animal easily reaches one ton), make the Istrian ox a monument of nature. Until some years ago it was possible to see oxen slowly moving through the fields in the Istrian interior along the Mirna River Valley or the outskirts of Pula toward Pazin. But now the Boškarin as the Istrian ox was known for centuries is in a sorry state of a genetic ruin. The ancient population from Koper to Pula that numbered head, is today a tiny group of just The imposing animal has survived wars and pestilence but not the enemies brought by progress - tractors and specialized production. As a triple activity breed (work, meat and milk), the Istrian ox was first an incredible pulling machine. By means of a carriage and a pair of oxen, the Romans dragged huge white rocks from quarries to build the Amphitheatre in Pula. In the well-known Venetian carrettada between Motovun and Oprtalj in the Venetian public forest of St. Mark, the tops of oaks were tied with rope and pulled downward to force the crown to curve toward the ground. By forcing the trunks to bend, the masters of the axe had ready-made curved wood for their galleys. With this trick Venice was able to prepare an entire combat fleet in far shorter time than its rival maritime states, especially the Turks, their mortal enemies along the Adriatic Sea coast. But how to get the trunks to the sea? Considering their shape, it was impossible to let

3 them float along the river. So Venetian gendarmes gathered head of oxen to slowly drag the massive wood across the land. Having a pair of oxen was a sure investment, source of income, and a status symbol in ancient times for it showed that one had plenty of workable land. Without fields to plow, the poor were content with a meek donkey. The powerful Boškarin has been replaced by selected short-horn breeds for the production of milk which may make sense. But then there s the meat, in which case industry has outpaced wisdom. The new breeds apparently produce more meat, but the Cuneese, Fassona, white and blue Belgian oxen yield calves with enormous legs making it necessary to conduct Caesarean sections for birth. After that, the monster-calf is subjected to finishing, supplemented with corn silage, integrators and intensive breeding. After a few months, giant slices of veal appear on the table but the flavor quality is diminished. Gourmets rightly abhor this insipid solution and go in search of T-bone steak from a Chianina breed without knowing that the Chianina and Boškarin are twins. The Boškarin is an ancient breed, a product of natural selection. Its most ancient predecessor was the Bos planifrons from the Miocene age, from which came the Bos nomadicus or Afro-Asiatic Uro during the Pleistocene, from which in turn derived the bulky Bos taurus macroceros, of big size and large horns, which populated the south and east European and Asian forests, progenitor of the breed of the Steppe or Podolian ox. In fact, it s by spontaneous migrations from Podolia, the granite highlands of eastern Ukraine, that the progenitors of the Boškarin reached the coasts of the eastern Adriatic more than years ago, and from there continued to the coastal areas of the

4 Apennine peninsula, generating by means of successive geographic isolation, populations, families and subfamilies. In Roman times, through the proper crossings of wise natural selection, came an ever purer Podolian ox, large and powerful: the Boškarin, like the Chianina and Maremmano. So now, in addition to the Istrian breed we have Marchigiano, Pugliese, Calabro and Maremmano. If some Italian breeders have realized that semi-open pasture farming of ancient breeds can be profitable as well as good for genetic preservation, Istria is now taking the first steps. Thanks to Dr Livio Dorigo, a veterinarian from Trieste, respectful of all that nature has given to man, an Istrian centre for the preservation of the local ox was founded eight years ago. But note: the Boškarin is found exclusively in Croatian Istria. It has become extinct in the Slovenian part of the region, and Zagreb is very careful not to allow the oxen to return to the cowsheds of its neighboring country, which would do anything to get the sperm from which to start again. But back to Istria... The genetic pool of the Istrian ox is, for the moment, just a large

5 stable surrounded by Istrian undergrowth and beautiful meadows where some thirty head graze peacefully. Consulted by Dr Dorigo, Marino and Aldo Štifanić care for the animals and run a large adjacent agritourism. We are in Višnjan, a town south of Vižinada on the main road to Pula, where the only fair celebrating the Boškarin takes place the last Thursday in July. It is a unique event that isn t likely to disappear thanks to the support of the Croatian government which subsidizes the breeders. But don t think it s easy to find a Boškarin T-bone here. In summer the agritourism works full-time with tourists serving delicious Istrian ham, typical fusi pasta (handmade macaroni) with poultry stew, spit-roasted lamb and roast pork. But if you wish to have the right chop or entrecote from a castrated steer, grown on mother s milk and meadow grass, slaughtered at months, with the meat marbled with fat (the flavor vehicle of all meat), we suggest you wait until fall when the restaurant Stancija- Boskarin opens to groups of twenty or more with reservations. Gather your friends and call the brothers Štifanić at (0) or (0) , or on the mobile phone ( (0) ) and ask them to prepare two dozen entrecote of Boškarin. As with the sheep of Cres Island, the only way to guarantee the survival of a species now apparently useless to the short-sighted eyes of modern men is to condemn some to slaughtering. Otherwise, as Dr Dorigo rightly states, paradoxically, Istrian men will continue to renounce breeding the Boškarin so as to begin raising ostriches!