He succeeded on June 28 when Peanut was born. From most angles, Peanut looks like the endangered Chinese bear with a big belt of white fur, a white face and black hair around the eyes.
Peanut never strays far from his mom, Midget, who was artificially inseminated. Another panda cow born July 3, a half-sister named Star, has similar markings, but not as well-defined.
Peanut is different and he knows it, Bartheld said. "He's got that cocky attitude. From the minute I laid eyes on him I knew he was something special," he said Friday. "Peanut knew he was a superstar. It's just the weirdest thing. I've never raised anything with this attitude — like he was born Tom Selleck," Bartheld said. "He struts around the field like he's in charge of the other calves and they follow him around. And he's not the oldest calf."
Bartheld runs nine cattle and five are registered miniatures. Two, Peanut and Star, are registered with The International Miniature Cattle Breeders Society, which is a division of Happy Mountain Farm in Covington.
