All breeds
146 breeds so far, best known first. 294 more are on the list to be written.
🇲🇳 MongoliaDzoམཛོ་
A yak-cow hybrid from Tibet and Mongolia, bigger than either parentYak · Dairy
🇵🇰 Pakistan and 5 moreZebu
Humped, heat-tolerant cattle of South Asia, kept for milk, meat, work and ridingZebu · Dairy · Heat-tolerant
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreGayal
A semi-domesticated bovine of the Eastern Himalayas, kept for meat, milk and ceremonyMithun · Beef
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 moreHolstein Friesian
A black and white dairy breed kept worldwide, with red and white lines tooTaurine · Dairy
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAyrshire
Red-and-white dairy cattle from south-west Scotland, hardy, long-lived and easy calversTaurine · Dairy · Easy calving
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreBraunvieh
A large Alpine brown dairy breed from Switzerland, known for its strength and high milk yield.Taurine · Dairy · Rich milk
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreBrown Swiss
A medium-sized American dairy breed descended from the Alpine Braunvieh, kept for high milk yield and cheese-making.Composite · Dairy · Rich milk
🇺🇸 United StatesGuernsey
A fawn dairy breed from Guernsey, its milk tinted gold by beta-caroteneTaurine · Dairy · Docile
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreDanish RedRød Dansk Malkerace
A red Danish dairy breed, with a modern line and a 1970 lineTaurine · Dairy · Rich milk
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreGir
A humped dairy breed from Gujarat, red and white with long drooping ears and a domed foreheadZebu · Dairy · Heat-tolerant
🇵🇰 Pakistan and 4 moreSahiwal
A heat-tolerant zebu from the Punjab, kept for milk, meat and draught workZebu · Dairy · Heat-tolerant
🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreGerman Black Pied
A dairy breed of the North Sea coast, black and white, smaller than the HolsteinTaurine · Dairy · Long-lived
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreMontbéliarde
A red and white dairy breed from eastern France, prized for cheesemaking milk.Taurine · Dairy · Rich milk
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreOngole
A short-horned zebu breed from Andhra Pradesh, white with dark markings, used for work and milk.Zebu · Draught · Heat-tolerant
🇱🇻 LatviaLatvian Brown
A red dairy breed from Latvia, developed from Angeln stock and once numbering over a million head.Taurine · Dairy · Docile
🇵🇰 Pakistan and 3 moreRed Sindhi
A humped dairy zebu from Sindh in Pakistan, deep red, with short curved hornsZebu · Dairy · Heat-tolerant
🇿🇦 South Africa and 2 moreAfrikaner
A Sanga-type breed from South Africa, deep red with long horns, kept for beef and draught work.Sanga · Beef · Heat-tolerant
🇮🇳 IndiaVechur
The world's smallest cattle breed from Kerala, kept for efficient milk production.Zebu · Dairy · Thrifty foragers
🇸🇪 SwedenSwedish Red-and-WhiteSvensk röd och vit boskap
A red and white Swedish milk breed with horns on cows and bulls alikeTaurine · Dairy
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreAbondance
A red and white dairy breed from the French Alps, kept for milk and mountain grazing.Taurine · Dairy · Heat-tolerant
🇸🇪 SwedenFjällSvensk fjällras
A polled, mostly white dairy cow from the Swedish mountains, hardy on thin grazing.Taurine · Dairy · Polled
🇮🇸 IcelandIcelandicíslenskur nautgripur
A small, mostly polled dairy breed isolated in Iceland for a thousand yearsTaurine · Dairy · Polled
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreKankrej
A grey zebu from the dry Rann of Kutch, kept for milk and for work oxenZebu · Dual-purpose · Heat-tolerant
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreTarentaise
A French alpine breed from the Tarentaise valley, kept for cheese and for crossingTaurine · Dairy · Docile
🇮🇳 IndiaRathiराठी
A brown and white dairy breed from the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, kept by nomadic Rath herders.Zebu · Dairy · Heat-tolerant
🇪🇸 SpainMenorquina
A red, hornless dairy breed from the Spanish island of Menorca, prized for Mahón cheese production.Taurine · Dairy · Disease-resistant
🇮🇳 IndiaMalnad Giddaಮಲೆನಾಡು ಗಿಡ್ಡ
A small, dark humpless breed from the Western Ghats of Karnataka, kept for milk and draught work.Taurine · Dairy · Disease-resistant
🇮🇳 IndiaHallikarಹಳ್ಳಿಕಾರ್
A draught breed from Karnataka, India, known for strength and the ability of both oxen and cows to plough.Zebu · Draught · Docile
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreKangayamகாங்கேயம்
A grey Tamil draught zebu whose bulls run in races and in the Jallikattu arenaZebu · Draught · Quick and strong
🇪🇪 EstoniaEstonian nativeeesti maatõug
A polled dairy breed from Estonia, yellow-brown to red, with a herdbook since 1914Taurine · Dairy · Polled
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreKerryBó Chiarraí
A rare black dairy breed from southwest Ireland, one of Europe's oldest milk cattleTaurine · Dairy · Thrifty foragers
🇫🇮 FinlandWestern Finncattle
A red, hornless dual-purpose breed from western Finland, kept for milk and beefTaurine · Dairy · Polled
🇸🇪 SwedenVäneko
An endangered Swedish dairy breed, black or red with white, named for a villageTaurine · Dairy
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreRed Poll
A naturally hornless red English breed, kept for milk and beefTaurine · Dual-purpose · Polled
🇩🇪 Germany and 1 moreMurnau-Werdenfels
A long-lived brown dairy breed of the Bavarian uplands, milk and beefTaurine · Dairy · Long-lived
🇫🇷 FranceBretonne Pie Noir
A small pied black and white dairy cow from Brittany, once half a million strongTaurine · Dairy · Thrifty foragers
🇮🇳 IndiaNimariनिमारि
A red, white-patched draught zebu from the Nimar region of central IndiaZebu · Draught · Spirited
🇮🇳 IndiaBachaur
A small, compact draught breed from the Mithila region of north Bihar, a brisk trotterZebu · Draught · Quick and strong
🇮🇳 IndiaKasaragod Dwarf
A one-metre zebu from the hills of Kasaragod district, kept for its milkZebu · Dairy · Thrifty foragers
🇮🇳 IndiaUmblachery
A small grey zebu from the Tamil Nadu coast, bred as an ox for rice paddiesZebu · Draught · Rich milk
🇳🇴 NorwayTelemarkTelemarkfe
A small red dairy breed from Telemark in Norway, with a white cross on the backTaurine · Dairy
🇧🇷 BrazilCaracu
A solid-red Brazilian Criollo beef breed from Minas Gerais, humpless and hornedTaurine · Beef
🇰🇿 KazakhstanAulie-Ata
A dairy breed from Kazakhstan, made from native stock and Dutch Black PiedComposite · Dairy
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 1 moreAbigar
A hardy sanga breed of western Ethiopia and Sudan, kept for milk and beefSanga · Dairy · Heat-tolerant
🇦🇲 Armenia and 3 moreCaucasian Brown
A variable brown breed of the Caucasus, kept for milk and for milk with meatTaurine · Dairy
🇮🇳 IndiaAlambadi
A humped draught breed from Tamil Nadu, horned and now close to extinctionZebu · Draught · Quick and strong
🇮🇳 IndiaJavariಜವಾರಿ
A medium-built dual-purpose zebu from Kalyana-Karnataka, gentle and heat-tolerantZebu · Dairy · Heat-tolerant
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Menorquina: Discasto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Malnad Gidda: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kankrej: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tarentaise: BlackSlash73, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- German Black Pied: WytzeNauta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Braunvieh: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abigar: Bertramz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brown Swiss: No machine-readable author provided. Malcolm Morley~commonswiki assume, Public domain, source
- Väneko: Philaweb, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Montbéliarde: Abujoy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Telemark: Torstein Frogner, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Western Finncattle: MPorciusCato (cropped by Pitke ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Danish Red: Malene Thyssen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abondance: Walpole, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Guernsey: Man vyi, Public domain, source
- Icelandic: Christian Bickel (user Fingalo ), CC BY-SA 2.0 de, source
- Murnau-Werdenfels: Pippo-b, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Latvian Brown: Ingrīda Briede, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gir: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ayrshire: Biggle, Jacob., Public domain, source
- Alambadi: Thamizhpparithi Maari, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sahiwal: Harvinder Chandigarh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kerry: Pedroserafin, CC BY 2.5, source
- Red Poll: Poinciana, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Swedish Red-and-White: Tjalve77, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Afrikaner: Amada44, Public domain, source
- Nimari: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ongole: DMR Sekhar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kasaragod Dwarf: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rathi: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Umblachery: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gayal: Aditya Kabir, Public domain, source
- Holstein Friesian: Vista Alegre baserria, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zebu: A. J. T. Johnsingh, WWF-India and NCF, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Caracu: Nevinho, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hallikar: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kangayam: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fjäll: Yvonne Zimmermann, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Red Sindhi: LunaticFringe97, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dzo: Markrosenrosen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vechur: Mullookkaaran, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Javari: Pavanaja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bretonne Pie Noir: Tsaag Valren, CC BY-SA 4.0, source