[3] It is similar to the type of Swedish Red-and-White cattle of the 1940s, and is considered a valuable genetic resource.

[5] It is named for the småort of Ringamåla [sv] in the southern Swedish county of Blekinge, where a farming couple had maintained a closed herd of the animals for more than forty years.

[2] The Ringamålako population was isolated from other dairy breeds for many years,[3] and is considered to be a valuable genetic resource.

[3] Two lines or sub-types within the breed are conserved at the Kulturens Östarp [sv] open-air museum near Veberöd in Lund Municipality, in Skåne County: the Rögnarrödsko is a red-coated type derived from a small herd found near Ljungbyhed in Klippan Municipality of Skåne in 2009, while the Granemålako, mostly black, descends from a group identified in Granemåla, in Karlskrona Kommun of Blekinge, in 2004.

[2] A small number are kept, together with sheep of the endangered Roslag breed, at pasture at the Bokö Nature Reserve [sv] in the Östergötland archipelago.