Breeds of Punganur
A town in Chittoor district that gives its name to one of the smallest cattle breeds in the world.
Breeds of this place
Best time: November to February.
Punganur is a small town in the hills of Chittoor district in southern Andhra Pradesh. Its cattle are tiny: a grown Punganur cow often stands well under a metre at the shoulder. Kept for generations by local landowning families, the breed nearly vanished in the late twentieth century and has since been brought back by careful breeding.
The breed
Punganur cattle are white or light grey, sometimes with brown or black patches, with small crescent horns. They live on very little feed and are hardy in drought. Their milk is notably high in fat, and in recent years the breed has become popular as a smallholder and household cow. A livestock research station at Palamaner, run by the state veterinary university, keeps a conservation herd.
A breed in demand
As interest in dwarf cattle grew, the price and demand for Punganur cows rose quickly, and breeders warn that crossbred animals are sometimes sold as pure. Breed registration and pedigree recording by public institutions aim to protect the true type. The surrounding country is dry, rocky and planted with mango orchards and groundnut.
A trail idea for Punganur
- Punganur town The small town at the heart of the breed's home tract.
- Palamaner The research station that keeps a pure Punganur herd.
- Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary Forested hills nearby, known for elephants.
Written by the EveryCow desk with AI assistance. Background: "Punganur" on Wikipedia. Fair dates, markets and visiting rules change; check locally before travelling, and keep a respectful distance from working animals. If something is wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Punganur: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, source