ZURICH, Switzerland, July 12 (UPI) -- Swiss Fribourg cows, thought to have disappeared in the 1970s, may have been rediscovered in southern Chile, a researcher said.
Retired Swiss economist Roger Pasquier said he discovered the cows, imported from Switzerland to Chile in the 1930s, while researching his family ancestry in Patagonia, Swissinfo.com reported Friday.
Switzerland's last purebred Fribourg cow was slaughtered in 1975. The breed disappeared as Fribourgs were bred with Holsteins from the Netherlands.
The animal and plant protection foundation ProSpecieRara plans to carry out further research into the black and white cows photographed by Pasquier. The foundation said it will send a researcher to southern Chile to collect blood samples from the cows to confirm their parentage.
