Claudette Olivier / Church Point News
With her long, dark lashes, shiny coat, sweet temperament and a love of being petted, it’s easy to slip and say that Lady Rhineaux is just like her mother, but the genetics are not that simple.
Glen Cox, with Circle T Cattle Company in Church Point, said, “She’s never really had a true mother. Or a daddy. She’s just reincarnated.”
“It’s hell to explain to people what she is,” Cox added, laughing.
In laymen’s terms, the cow, owned by Circle T Cattle Company, is a clone. Lady Rhineaux’s “original” was CT Lady Rhineaux Ray 8/9, a national and international Red brahman once owned by the cattle company. In 2016, the prized cow was even named the state Red brahman.
Troy Thibodeaux, owner and operator of the cattle company, said “It’s like my dad says, ‘Well, her mother…’ and she’s not really her mother. And it’s not her sister.”
“Hell, I’m not used to (talking about) clones, and I don’t think anyone else is,” he continued, laughing.
Thibodeaux and his father, Bob Thibodeaux, purchased CT Lady Rhineaux Ray 8/9, who was called 8/9 for short, at a Tom Olden and Friends Brahman sale at the state fair grounds in Shreveport in May 2010. Prior to 8/9’s passing a few years ago, a piece of tissue was taken from her ear and banked at Trans Ova Genetics Embryo and Research Center in Sioux Center, Iowa.
“That’s why we got the clone — sooner or later, a cow will die,” Thibodeaux said. “She produced so many outstanding offspring, we didn’t want to lose that genetic line. The clone is a carbon copy of her.”
He continued, “They (Trans Ova) grow the tissue into so many cells, and I’m going to use 5 million. It might be 10 million. After they get the cells, they freeze it, and whenever you are ready to make a clone, they use that tissue bank of cells to create the clone. The clone is created in a petri dish, and after it becomes an embryo, it is planted into a surrogate. Then it is carried until the time it is ready to be born.”
8/9’s offspring includes a Houston International Livestock Show Reserve Calf Champion Bull, Reserve International Grand Champions, Intermediate Division Champions, Junior Division Champions and Grand Champions. The awards of 8/9 and her offspring even made her the top Brahman cow in the American Brahman Breeders Association’s Register of Renown.
Thibodeaux said tissue from 8/9 is still banked at Trans Ova, and more clones may be ordered in the future.
What might the next 8/9 clone be named?
“We haven’t even thought about that yet, but you can bet it will have something to do with Rhineaux,” Thibodeaux said, laughing.
Lady Rhineaux was picked up from Trans Ova when she was six months old, and the cow is now 13 months old.
Not only is Lady Rhineaux a duplicate, but she is also a total snuggle bug.
“She thinks she’s a dog,” Thibodeaux said. “When people pull up, she comes running to see who’s here. If my little grandkids run away from her, she’ll chase after them like a dog, bucking and kicking.”
Cox also weighed in on Lady Rhineaux’s sweet, Southern demeanor.
“She’ll be in the barn, and if she sees somebody out here, she looks like a dog running wide open to come to you and be petted,” Cox said. “She’ll pull your hand into her mouth and lick it. If you quit paying attention to her, she’ll just go to the next person.”
Thibodeaux said Lady Rhineaux has become quite the local attraction.
“I got a family coming out here after 5 p.m. today (to see her),” he said. “I’ve also got more messages on my phone. I know what they want — to come see her.”