(Photos taken 7 March 2019) One of Scotland's key historical sites has welcomed a team of unusual grounds keepers in the form of four Shetland Cattle. The rare black and white cows have been drafted in as part of a conservation project at Culloden Battlefield near Inverness. Three-year-old adults Una and Moon, and their calves Duna and Dione, will be tasked with trampling heather and chewing their way through the tough grasses at the Battlefield. Credit: Andrew Smith/Alamy Live News
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RARE CATTLE ARRIVE AT CULLODEN BATTLEFIELD WORDS/PICTURES: ANDREW SMITH (Photos taken 7 March 2019) One of Scotland's key historical sites has welcomed a team of unusual grounds keepers in the form of four Shetland Cattle. The rare black and white cows have been drafted in as part of a conservation project at Culloden Battlefield near Inverness. Three-year-old adults Una and Moon, and their calves Duna and Dione, will be tasked with trampling heather and chewing their way through the tough grasses at the Battlefield. Livestock manager Alex Elliott said: "The visitors love them. Animals would have been grazing in the area at the time of the battle, so it's not out of character for the site. The Highland Cattle is the one that everyone thinks is the main Scottish one, but the Shetland Cattle go back five thousand years and they're more authentic for the site." It is hoped that the once-endangered cows may have more calves at the Battlefield, as part of a breeding programme that has seen the breed come back from the brink of extinction. It is estimated there was once as many as 50, 000 Shetland Cattle, but the count dwindled to only 21 in the 1970s. There are now thought to be around 600 breeding cows. The world-famous site at Culloden Moor, where the 1745 Jacobite Rising came to its bloody end, includes vast areas of wild undergrowth. The National Trust for Scotland, which manages the site, has previously employed ponies and goats to tame the more rugged flora. But after two goats were killed in a horrific dog attack last year, managers at the Battlefield sought to broaden their animal workforce. The once-endangered Shetland Cattle were sourced from a specialist breeder in the north of Scotland. Alex Elliott explained: "Goats are quite vulnerable. We have a number of local dog walkers using the site and letting their dogs off the lead, and it is a big issue for us. The goats are doing a great job, but Shetlands have been proven in a conservation role. They're