The Tolmin or Bohinj Cika, a brown piebald
cow, is a lighter variety of Pinzgauer (belan) cattle which used to
be the largely prevalent breed in Tolminsko, Gorenjska and the surroundings
of Ormo and Ptuj in the 19th and in the first half of the 20th century.
Even as late as 1964, 25% of the cows in Primorska
were Tolmin Cika. Two varieties of Cika (the Tolmin and Bohinj types)
have been formed from autonomous breeds, the markings of which are
the same as those of a Pinzgauer; therefore, they are taken as the
same variety.
The Slovenian Cika is smaller than the Pinzgauer
with a height of 116 - 123 cm.
In the second half of the 19th century, the
Bohinj variety, the descendant of which is the Gorenjska Pinzgauer,
used to weigh about 200 kg (Povse, 1893).
A smaller frame is probably the result of modest
breeding conditions and of a selection to a smaller frame. The Tolmin
Cika were larger than the Bohinj variety (about 400 kg), due to crossbreeding
of Pinzgauer bulls as well as better nutritional conditions.
The Cika especially excelled in its adaptability
for breeding in mountainous regions. Because of its small frame, firm
hooves and low weight it is especially suitable for grazing on steep
slopes, where heavy breeds could cause too much erosion.
Slovenian Cika have, considering their weight
and the nutritional conditions they were raised, high milk production
levels with their annual production as much as six times their live
weight. It is difficult to estimate the actual number of Cika type
cows which have been preserved in Slovenia.
This breed is almost extinct.
