Boskarin – Istrian ox
Istrian oxen are reared in Istria, but a few specimens can also be found elsewhere in the Northern Adriatic. In the creation of today's Istrian oxen, the bulls of Podol breed took part and, in the cross-breeding, Italian breed Romagnola and Maremana but, in the first half of the 20th century, it was determined that the base for the selection be domestic rearing.
In the course of many decades, the Istrian oxen was somewhat ousted from its natural habitat by the use of mechanical tools and other breeds of oxen, so that they were almost extinct towards the end of the 20th century. In order to preserve this original breed of oxen, as well as prevent the possibility of their extinction, the owners of the Istrian oxen founded, in Višnjan, in 1989, the Association of the Breeders of the Istrian Ox.
Today, the selected Istrian bull population numbers 350 cows and 18 bulls. Due to the low number of animals, great care has to be exercised in mating in order to avoid too large a rearing in kinship.