Originating in the rough environment of Portugal’s Serra da Estrela mountains, the Estrela Mountain Dog is a large livestock guardian breed. Another name for them is the Cão da Serra da Estrela. Among Portugal’s oldest dog breeds, these strong canines have long been devoted friends and fierce guardians of livestock in their native country.
Mau is the Egyptian word for cat, and it looks a lot like the statuesque spotted cats that are depicted in Ancient Egyptian art.One of the earliest cat breeds to be domesticated, the Mau may have ancestry from a spotted variety of the African Wild Cat.