Zebu cattle
Humped cattle, Bos indicus, first tamed in the Indus valley: Gir, Ongole, Sahiwal, Nelore and Brahman.
Zebu, Bos indicus, are the humped cattle of South Asia, and India is their home. They were tamed from a South Asian form of the aurochs, probably in the region of the Indus valley, around eight thousand years ago; early evidence comes from sites such as Mehrgarh in Balochistan. A zebu has a fleshy hump over the shoulders, a large dewlap, long ears and loose skin. It copes with heat, sun and ticks far better than taurine cattle. Gir, Sahiwal, Ongole, Kankrej and Tharparkar are Indian zebu, and so are Brazil's Nelore and the American Brahman.
A South Asian domestication
Genetic studies show that zebu come from a separate wild population of aurochs, sometimes called the Indian aurochs, Bos primigenius namadicus, which once lived across the Indian subcontinent. The humped bull is one of the most common images on the seals of the Indus civilisation. From South Asia, zebu spread east into China and Southeast Asia, west into Iran and Arabia, and over the sea and land into Africa, where they mixed with local taurine cattle.
Built for heat
The hump is a store of muscle and fat over the shoulders. The large dewlap, long ears and loose folds of skin give more surface to lose heat. Zebu have more and larger sweat glands than taurine cattle, short glossy coats that reflect sunlight, and they produce less body heat when at rest. Many also carry fewer ticks. These traits let zebu keep eating, walking and working in heat and humidity that would make European breeds stop.
The Indian breeds
India has more than fifty recognised zebu cattle breeds, and they fall into milking, draught and dual-purpose groups. Gir, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi and Rathi are the milking breeds. Hallikar, Amrit Mahal, Kangayam, Khillari and Bargur are draught breeds of the south and the Deccan. Hariana, Tharparkar, Kankrej, Ongole and Deoni do both. The dwarf Vechur and Punganur, and hill breeds such as Siri and Malnad Gidda, add to the range.
Zebu around the world
Indian zebu went abroad in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and changed cattle farming in the tropics. Brazil imported Ongole, Gir and Kankrej cattle, which became the Nelore, Gyr and Guzerá. Texas ranchers built the American Brahman from Indian stock, and the Brahman went on to Australia, where it now dominates northern herds. Sahiwal went to Kenya and the Caribbean. Most tropical beef and much tropical dairy now carries zebu blood.
Worth knowing
- Gir: Milking zebu of Saurashtra with a domed forehead and curled horns
- Sahiwal: Red-brown dairy zebu of the Punjab
- Ongole: Large white zebu of Andhra Pradesh, ancestor of the Nelore
- Kankrej: Lyre-horned grey zebu of north Gujarat
- Tharparkar: White desert zebu of the Thar
- Nelore: Brazilian beef zebu bred from Ongole stock
- American Brahman: Grey or red zebu breed developed in Texas
- Boran: East African zebu of southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya
Good to know
- Zebu are often more alert and quicker to react than European breeds, so calm, regular handling pays.
- Zebu cows may hold back milk without their calf present, a trait known in many traditional herds.
Sources and further reading
- Zebu on Wikipedia
- Indian aurochs, Wikipedia
- Gyr cattle, Wikipedia
- Ongole cattle, Wikipedia
- Zebu, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Original text by the EveryCow desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.
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