[5]: 243  The cattle were so called because of the practice of swimming them across the narrow straits or kyles separating the islands from the mainland.

At markets such as those of Falkirk or Crieff, many were bought by drovers from England, who moved them south over the Pennines to be fattened for slaughter.

This is because in winter, the cattle were kept in open shelters made of stone called folds to protect them from the weather at night.

[8] In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II ordered Highland cattle to be kept at Balmoral Castle where they are still kept today.

[9][10] From the late nineteenth century, stock was exported to various countries of the world, among them Argentina, Australia, Canada, the Falkland Islands, the former Soviet Union and the United States.

[11] Scottish immigrants brought small numbers of the cattle to Australia from the mid-nineteenth century, but by the late 1800s none remained.

However that has stopped, largely due to the BSE (mad cow disease) outbreaks in the United Kingdom.

Their studbooks show importation of Highland cattle breeding stock to Finland, dating back to 1884.

The usual coat colour is reddish brown, seen in approximately 60% of the population; some 22% are yellow, and the remainder pale silver, black or brindle/dun.

[22] This makes them well suited to conditions in the Highlands, which have a high annual rainfall and sometimes very strong winds.

[25] Conversely due to their thick coats they are much less tolerant of heat than zebu cattle, which originated in South Asia and are adapted for hot climates.

[26] Highland cattle have been successfully established in countries where winters are substantially colder than Scotland such as Norway and Canada.

Calves from the top ranking cow were given higher social status, despite minimal intervention from their mother.

Highland cattle can produce beef at a reasonable profit from land that would otherwise normally be unsuitable for agriculture.

[30] These crossbred beef suckler cows inherit the hardiness, thrift and mothering capabilities of their Highland dams and the improved carcass configuration of their sires.