India #2 Cattle Breeds

However like most generalizations, this idea of cattle falls to pieces when one encounters, whether in literature or life, the banteng. The banteng is everything domestic cattle are not: rainforest-dwelling, wild, elusive, obscure, almost mystical. Yet for all that, the banteng are cattle. They just happen to be cattle of the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, sharing their dark verdured habitat with tigers, elephants, and rhinos. Although co-existing with such exotic animals, the banteng, in appearance, could almost be mistaken for domestic cattle; they are similar in both size and general impression, but a bit different in color and pattering: males sport a black coat with white stockings and rump, while females are tan to dark brown with similar stockings and rump. Footprints of the rarely sighted banteng in Tabin Wildlife Reserve. Banteng are one of the few remaining species of totally wild bovids in the world,” Penny Gardner, who is studying banteng in Borneo, says. “The behavior of the banteng is unique because they spend the majority of their time in dense remote forest, emerging at night and early morning to forage on grasses growing at the edge of the forest or in glades. They are incredibly elusive and rarely sighted.” A PhD student at Cardiff University, Penny Gardner is currently tracking banteng in two protected areas—Tabin Wildlife Reserve and Malua BioBank—in the Malaysian state of Sabah through the Danau Girang Field Center and Sabah Wildlife Department. Although wild banteng are found in several countries, including Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, Borneo’s banteng are considered by many to be a distinct subspecies. They are the last large mammal of Borneo to be researched and very few people worldwide have heard of them. The threat of extinction is imminent; they are extinct from Brunei and Sarawak (Malaysia Borneo), and only occasional sightings of tracks are reported in Kalimantan (Indonesia Borneo). Sabah is the last stronghold, however the remaining forest habitat is fragmented and populations are isolated,” she says. While the banteng is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, Gardner says that listing comes from a “crude population estimate conducted in the 1980s.” Today, the species may be on the verge of disappearing. In reality, [the banteng] is the second most endangered large mammal in Borneo, after the Sumatran Rhino,” explains Gardner. The species, across its range, is being pummeled by deforestation and poaching. Forests across Southeast Asia are being converted into palm oil, rubber, paper and pulp plantations at record rates. Although a protected species in all of its range states, the banteng is still illegally hunted with law enforcement lacking due to a dearth of funds. Given low populations and fragmentation of habitat, Gardner says the banteng is also facing “a reduction of gene flow between populations, (probable) inbreeding, hybridization with domestic cattle and disease transmission with domestic livestock.” With the number of threats extinction may appear inevitable, but the situation is not yet hopeless. 1-The Jellicut (aka Kilakad, Kilakattu, Kikad, Pulikulam, Pulikolum) is one of various strains of local cattle found in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. The Jellicut is a small to dwarfish zebu that is compact and well-built. It generally has: a tight body sheath and a thin dewlap, a coat color of mostly greyish-white (sometimes fawn or brown) horns growing wide and towards the back (some also turn upward and have sharp points) a long tail with a large switch 2-The Kankrej (aka Bannai, Nagar, Talabda, Vagadia, Wagad or Waged in Kutch; Vadhiyar, Wadhiar, Wadhir or Wadial in Radhanpur; Guzerat in USA) originated in the southeast of the Great Rann of Kutch — which is located in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat. Bulls raised for breeding are kept for only six to seven years and then they are sold to prevent inbreeding. However, breeding females are rarely sold by the professional breeders. 3-The Karan Swiss is cross between a Swiss Brown, a Sahiwal and a Red Sindhi. 4-The Khargaon (aka Nimari, Khargoni, Khurgoni) is a strain of Nimari. The bulls are bred for work and the cows are bred for milk. The Khargaon has the same basic body conformation as the Gir, but with the long legs and hardiness of the Khillari. 5-The Khillari (aka Mandeshi, Shikari) is a Mysore Zebu and is believed to be descended from the Hallikar. Mysore Zebu cattle, in contrast with other Indo-Pakistani zebu breeds, have: a tight body skin overall a smaller dewlap a tight sheath on the males a tight navel fold on the females 6-The Krishna Valley (aka Kistna Valley) was developed using a local desi breed and crossbreeding with a mix of: Ongole Gir Kankrej Mysore blood desi = indigenous to, or from, the Indian subcontinent 7-The Malvi (aka Mahadeopuri, Manthani) is used primarily for draft purposes. The breed name Malvi is derived from Malwa — its original breeding grounds — located in west-central northern India. 8-The Nagori is known for its speed and agility and is used for trotting and draught work. 9-The Ongole (aka Nellore; Sumba Ongole in Indonesia) is a shorthorned zebu whose name comes from its main breeding area of Ongole Taluka. 10-The Son Valley is one of four varieties of Dwarf Zebu found in India. The other three are: the Ramgarhi the Khamala the Mampati