A SMALL herd of highland cattle have returned to the Old Hills in Callow End as part of a grazing project.
Over the last three years, the Malvern Hills Trust, formerly the Conservators, has been working with a local farmer to reintroduce the cattle to graze on the landscape.
They are a rare breed suited to the rough pasture at the Old Hills.
With cattle grazing the anthill-filled grassland, species such as the green woodpecker benefit as their main food source is ants.
Cow pats are also an important resource for invertebrates which provide food for mammals, like bats, further up the food chain.
Deputy conservation officer Mark Roberts said: “By maintaining the grassland using natural and traditional methods we are working to preserve habitats, maintain landscape character, open up views and keep the common accessible for people to enjoy.”
The Old Hills were once grazed by cattle and sheep all year round by local farmers.
The land is still registered as common land which means that at any time, commoners with grazing rights can put their livestock up on the Old Hills.
When the last cattle and sheep left the Old Hills, as grazing became uneconomical and the roads got busier, the trees and scrub started to encroach the grassland and these open areas were lost.
The Trust is asking walkers to keep their dogs under close control at all times when walking on the Old Hills and to keep them on a lead near livestock.
Livestock worrying, including chasing, is a criminal offence and is distressing for all involved.
Keeping a dog on a lead can stop such attacks from happening.
The cattle will be on the Old Hills for a couple of months within a temporary electric fenced enclosure throughout the rest of this month and November.
They will then be taken away before returning next year.
