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OH NO!
Word reached The OTS Foundation
that an important bull was about
to be sent to the glue factory,
by way of a plea from the
Malta Cattle Foundation.
This was a hastily formed body,
backed by Malta's School of
Medicine and the
Department of OB/GYN.
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Wenzu's mother was one of three cows who were the last remaining descendents of
cattle brought by Malta's first settlers in the Temple Period.
When it was discovered how close these animals were to extinction, doctors
stepped in with an in-vitro fertilization, and were astonished by the results.
Wenzu retained 96% of the original genetic material and looked exactly like his
maternal grandsires. It is believed that isolation on the islands
kept the breed pure. While people came and went over the centuries, the
cattle would have remained a constant.
With a grant from OTSF, Wenzu was purchased from the
farmer who owned the last cows, and moved to the government farm where
an ongoing program of backbreeding has now been established.
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