Baoulé
A dwarf shorthorn of the Ivory Coast savanna, black-coated and kept by Fula herders
The Baoulé is a Savannah Shorthorn, one of the dwarf cattle of the West African savanna. A cow stands about a metre at the shoulder and wears a black or black pied coat; Fula herders raise the breed in inland Ivory Coast and the far south of Mali for milk and meat.
- Cows stand 90 to 100 cm and bulls 100 to 110 cm at the withers
- A lactation of 280 to 340 days yields 120 to 390 kg of milk
- A carcass dresses out at 50% of live weight
- About 350,000 head were counted in 1985
- Unmixed herds are found around Bouaké, Bouna and Dabakala
What do Baoulé cattle look like?
The Baoulé belongs to the Savannah Shorthorns, the small shorthorned cattle of the West African savanna, and it is a dwarf breed: a grown cow stands 90 to 100 cm at the withers, the ridge between the shoulder blades, while a bull reaches 100 to 110 cm. The head is large for so small an animal. The horns are short and thick, and the neck is brief too, slim in females and heavier in males. The body is rounded, the back runs level from shoulders to tail, and the tail-head, where the tail joins the spine, is set high and is thick. Coats are black on most animals; the rest are black pied, black with white patches.
Where does the Baoulé come from?
Baoulé cattle are part of the Savannah Shorthorn grouping, small shorthorned cattle of the West African savanna. Their home today is Ivory Coast, where the breed occupies the interior across the middle and upper parts of the country, and where some herds graze just over the border in the far south of Mali. Three towns are singled out as holding the animals in unmixed, pure form: Bouaké, Bouna and Dabakala. The same cattle also answer to the names Lobi and Mere, and the daily care of most herds rests with Fula herdsmen.
What the Baoulé is known for
Size, or the lack of it, is the breed's calling card. Cows stand 90 to 100 cm at the withers and bulls 100 to 110 cm, figures that place the Baoulé firmly among the dwarf cattle of Africa. The build matches: a big head, a short thick pair of horns, a rounded body carried on a level back. Coat colours are plain and workmanlike, black or black pied. The animals live out on savanna country in the care of Fula herdsmen.
Baoulé, drawn
What the Baoulé is kept for
Milk and meat are the recorded outputs. A Baoulé cow gives a small quantity by dairy standards: across a lactation running 280 to 340 days she yields between 120 and 390 kg of milk in total. The animals are also a source of beef. At slaughter the carcass dresses out at 50 per cent, which is to say about half the live weight ends up as meat. And because the cattle themselves are small, any single animal offers only a modest amount of milk or meat.
The land and climate of the Baoulé
The Baoulé is a creature of the savanna, the grassland country of West Africa. Its range lies inland, across the middle and upper parts of Ivory Coast, with outlying herds just over the border in the far south of Mali. Bouaké, Bouna and Dabakala, towns of this inland belt, are named as places where the herds remain unmixed with other cattle. Through this country the animals are tended above all by Fula herdsmen.
Who keeps the Baoulé
Most Baoulé cattle are in the hands of Fula herdsmen. The breed's home range, running through inland Ivory Coast and over the border into the far south of Mali, is the same country where these herders work, and it is under their management that the animals are grazed and milked. In the districts around Bouaké, Bouna and Dabakala the herds remain unmixed with other cattle, keeping the breed pure there.
At a glance: where it belongs
Land and climate
Peoples
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
A census of 1985 put the breed at roughly 350,000 head. Within Ivory Coast, the towns of Bouaké, Bouna and Dabakala stand out as places where the herds are pure, unmixed with other cattle. The animals also live across the border in the far south of Mali, so the breed's range covers two countries.
Questions people ask about Baoulé
Where do Baoulé cattle come from?
They are native to inland Ivory Coast, where the breed occupies the middle and upper parts of the country, with some herds just over the border in the far south of Mali. Unmixed herds are found around Bouaké, Bouna and Dabakala.
What are Baoulé cattle kept for?
Milk and meat. A cow yields between 120 and 390 kg of milk over a lactation of 280 to 340 days, and at slaughter the carcass dresses out at 50 per cent, so roughly half the live weight becomes meat.
How big do Baoulé cattle grow?
They are dwarf animals. A grown cow stands 90 to 100 cm at the withers, the high point of the shoulders, and bulls measure 100 to 110 cm. Both sexes carry a massive head on a short neck and a rounded body with a level back.
Who keeps Baoulé cattle?
Most of them are kept by Fula herdsmen, who tend the breed across its home range in inland Ivory Coast and the far south of Mali. The same cattle also go by the names Lobi and Mere in the region.
What does a Baoulé cow look like?
Most animals are black and the rest are black pied, black with white patches. The head is big, the horns short and thick, the neck short, the body rounded, the back level and the tail-head set high and thick.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Baoulé cattle", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryCow rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Sizes, colours and customs differ from one herd, valley or breeder to the next. Folk beliefs are described as tradition, never as advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-16.
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