Cholistani
A large white-spotted zebu of Pakistan's Cholistan Desert, kept for milk, meat and work
The Cholistani is a large zebu breed of Punjab in Pakistan, kept mainly for milk and also for meat and draught work. It has a white coat with black, brown or red spots, small horns, long ears and a very large hump, and cows give 1,200 to 1,800 litres in a lactation.
- White coat with black, brown or red spots, small horns and long ears
- Bulls weigh 500 to 600 kg and cows 300 to 400 kg
- A cow gives 1,200 to 1,800 litres of milk in a lactation
- Its hump is larger than that of any other breed
- Thought to come from Sahiwal crossed with other local cattle
What do Cholistani cattle look like?
The Cholistani is a large zebu breed, easy to pick out by the hump over its shoulders. Its coat is white, marked with spots of black, brown or red. The horns are small and the ears are long. Bulls are the heavier sex, at 500 to 600 kg; cows weigh 300 to 400 kg. A bull carries a big hump, while a cow has medium-sized udders. The breed is kept for milk, meat and work, and is one of the substantial cattle of the Punjab plains in Pakistan.
Where does the Cholistani come from?
The breed belongs to the Cholistan Desert in Punjab, Pakistan, and is especially linked with Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar. It came to notice only recently. Writers on the breed believe it arose when Sahiwal cattle were crossed with other local cattle of the desert edge, so it is a young population rather than an old fixed breed. Its home is the dry country of the Cholistan, where herds graze on sparse vegetation.
What the Cholistani is known for
The Cholistani is known for a good immune system, which helps it live in the hard conditions of the Cholistan Desert. Its most remarked feature is the hump on the back, which is bigger than that of any other breed; only the Dhanni breed of Chakwal District, also in Punjab, is described as carrying a hump of the same size. The animals are large and long-eared.
How the Cholistani is bred and kept
Cholistani cattle are thought to descend from Sahiwal crossed with other local cattle, so the population is a young one. Breeders have also crossed Cholistani cows with Holstein Friesian bulls; such a crossbred cow is reported to give 15 to 20 litres of milk a day under proper care, well above what a pure Cholistani yields. The breed is identified with the grazing country of the Cholistan Desert and its edges.
Cholistani, drawn
What the Cholistani is kept for
The Cholistani is kept above all for milk, but meat and draught work are also part of its role. A cow gives 7 to 12 litres a day, or 1,200 to 1,800 litres in a lactation, from a medium-sized udder. That puts it among the useful dairy zebus of Punjab. The cross with the Holstein Friesian lifts the daily figure to 15 to 20 litres with proper care, which is one reason such crosses are made.
The land and climate of the Cholistani
The breed belongs to the Cholistan Desert and the dry plains of Punjab in Pakistan, a hot, arid country of little rain and thin grazing. Its recorded heartland lies around Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar. The good immune system noted in the breed is the quality that suits it to this hard setting.
At a glance: where it belongs
Land and climate
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
The recorded figures for the breed are its weights and its milk. Bulls are put at 500 to 600 kg, cows at 300 to 400 kg. A cow yields 7 to 12 litres a day, or 1,200 to 1,800 litres in a lactation; a Holstein Friesian cross can reach 15 to 20 litres a day with proper care. The Cholistani has been described only recently, so it is a newly recognised population of Punjab.
From the Cholistani
Questions people ask about Cholistani
Where does the Cholistani come from?
It belongs to the Cholistan Desert in Punjab, Pakistan, and is especially associated with Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar. It is a recently noticed breed, thought to have come from Sahiwal cattle crossed with other local cattle.
What is the Cholistani kept for?
Mainly for milk, and also for meat and draught work. A cow yields 7 to 12 litres a day, or 1,200 to 1,800 litres in a lactation, from a medium udder. Crosses with the Holstein Friesian give 15 to 20 litres a day with proper care.
What does a Cholistani look like?
It is a large zebu with a white coat marked by black, brown or red spots, small horns and long ears. Bulls carry a big hump, the largest of any breed, and cows have medium-sized udders.
How heavy is a Cholistani?
Bulls weigh between 500 and 600 kg, and cows between 300 and 400 kg. That makes it a large, substantial zebu of the Punjab plains.
How is it related to other breeds?
It is a zebu of the Sahiwal line, thought to have arisen from Sahiwal crossed with local cattle. Its hump is compared with the Dhanni breed of Chakwal District, and it is also crossed with the Holstein Friesian.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Cholistani 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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