The Abondance is a mixed race breed of cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 which originated in the high valleys of Haute-Savoie

Haute-Savoie

Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Description

They are medium-sized, with the female weighing in at between 580 and 680 kilograms (kg) and standing 1.30 metres tall. They are golden brown in color with a white head (apart from the eyes), underside of the abdomen, and extremities of its legs.

Their milk is rich in both fat and protein, with a good balance between the two. The milk is traditionally used to produce Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

 (AOC) cheese such as the reblochon

Reblochon

Reblochon is a French cheese from the Alps region of Haute-Savoie and has been granted the AOC title. Reblochon was first produced in the Thônes and Arly valleys, in the Aravis massif. Thônes remains the centre of Reblochon production; the cheeses are still made in the local cooperatives. Until...

, abondance

Abondance (cheese)

Abondance is a semi-hard, fragrant, raw-milk cheese made in the Haute-Savoie department of France. Its name comes from a small commune also called Abondance. A round of Abondance weighs approximately 10 kg and its aroma is similar to that of Beaufort, also from France. Abondance is made...

, tome des Bauges and the beaufort

Beaufort (cheese)

Beaufort is a hard, rather sharp cheese made from cow's milk and is similar to gruyère. It is produced in the area around Beaufort located high in the French Alps in the Savoie region of France...

. Typical milk production is 5700 kg per lactation.

This breed of cattle is especially appreciated for its ability to withstand extreme variations in temperature, its fertility, its ease of breeding, its milk, its long life and its meat.

Origins

It comes from the Chablais

Chablais

Chablais was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains.This region is currently divided into three territories, the Chablais savoyard, the Chablais valaisan, and the Chablais vaudois, and is now split across two countries: France and Switzerland...

 in Haute-Savoie

Haute-Savoie

Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...

, where it was bred by the monks of the abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune

Abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune

St. Maurice's Abbey is a historical building in Saint-Maurice, Canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is situated against a cliff in a section of the road between Geneva and the Simplon Pass . The abbey itself is a territorial abbacy and not part of a diocese...

since the 12th century. It was originally known as the chablaisienne.

Distribution

Currently, there are about 150,000 head of abondance in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. They have also been exported to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 and Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. In West Africa, they have been cross bred with N'dama

N'Dama

N'Dama are a breed of cattle from West Africa, of the Bos taurus-type. Other names for them include Boenca or Boyenca , Fouta Jallon, Fouta Longhorn, Fouta Malinke, Futa, Malinke, Mandingo , N'Dama Petite...

.