Indu-Brasil
A Brazilian zebu beef breed from Minas Gerais with huge ears, grey coat and a hump
The Indu-Brasil is a humped Brazilian beef breed of zebu type, created in the early 1900s in Minas Gerais from Indian Gir, Kankrej and Ongole stock. It is white to dark grey, short-horned, and carries what may be the largest ears of any cattle breed.
- Said to have the largest ears of any cattle breed in the world
- Brazil's dominant beef breed from about 1925 to 1945
- Brazilian herd fell from 80,000 cows in 1991 to about 900 head by 2017
- Bred from Indian Gir, Kankrej and Ongole zebu stock in Minas Gerais
- Helped create the American Brahman and the Mexican Minivaca dwarf
What do Indu-Brasil cattle look like?
The Indu-Brasil is a large, humped beef animal of zebu type. Bulls stand about 161 cm at the withers, the highest point of the shoulders, and weigh 900 to 1200 kg; cows average 143 cm and 750 to 900 kg. The coat runs from white through pale grey to dark grey. Horns are short. The ears are the breed's calling card: exceptionally long, and thought to be the biggest borne by any cattle breed anywhere. As in other zebu cattle there is a fleshy hump above the shoulders.
Where does the Indu-Brasil come from?
The breed was put together in the opening decades of the twentieth century in the Triângulo Mineiro, a farming region in western Minas Gerais, and above all around the town of Uberaba. Its first name, Induberaba, borrowed the town's; in 1936 it was changed to Indu-Brasil, a nod to its Indian ancestry. That ancestry is zebu stock shipped over from India: chiefly Kankrej cattle, which Brazilians call Guzerá, with Ongole (known in Brazil as Nellore) and Gir blood as well. A first breeders' body was formed in 1939, and in 1962 the Associação Brasileira dos Criadores de Indubrasil was founded; it keeps the breed standard today.
What the Indu-Brasil is known for
The Indu-Brasil is built for the tropics. It resists heat and parasites well, and thrives in hot country where many humpless European breeds would struggle. Its heavy frame is geared to meat rather than milk. The enormous ears are its best-known feature, said to be possibly the biggest of any cattle breed anywhere. From its peak in the Brazilian beef trade the breed has fallen a long way, and it is now counted as endangered.
How the Indu-Brasil is bred and kept
The type was fixed by blending imported Indian zebu stocks, above all Kankrej blood (Guzerá in Brazil), with Ongole and Gir, in the ranching country of the Triângulo Mineiro. Two breeders' organisations have guided it since: one formed in 1939, and the Associação Brasileira dos Criadores de Indubrasil, set up in 1962, which publishes the breed standard. Herd numbers are tracked through DAD-IS, the database of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, where Brazilian counts have fallen from tens of thousands of cows to roughly nine hundred head.
Indu-Brasil, drawn
What the Indu-Brasil is kept for
This is a beef breed. From about 1925 to 1945 no beef breed in Brazil was more widely used, and the Indu-Brasil kept its place in the country's beef production into the 1970s. In 1991 the number of breeding cows was put at 80,000 in DAD-IS. The decades since have seen a steep decline: the Brazilian herd is now counted in hundreds rather than thousands, with small populations surviving in other Latin American countries, Mexico foremost among them.
The land and climate of the Indu-Brasil
The Indu-Brasil is a tropical animal. Its heat tolerance and parasite resistance suit hot country, and its range is correspondingly narrow: all fourteen countries reporting the breed to the FAO lie in Central or South America. Brazil remains its home ground, with Mexico holding the largest population outside.
At a glance: where it belongs
Land and climate
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
Indu-Brasil numbers tell a story of boom and decline. In 1991 Brazil reported 80,000 breeding cows; by 2017, and again in 2020 and 2021, the national total was about 900 head, and DAD-IS now lists the breed as at risk or endangered. The FAO's 2007 assessment had judged it not at risk. Fourteen countries report the breed, all in Central or South America; the largest is Mexico with 4,120 head in 2022, of which 2,492 were cows and 1,348 bulls. Two breeders' bodies have served the breed, one formed in 1939 and the Associação Brasileira dos Criadores de Indubrasil, founded in 1962.
Questions people ask about Indu-Brasil
Where does the Indu-Brasil come from?
It was created in the early 1900s in the Triângulo Mineiro of western Minas Gerais, especially around Uberaba. Its ancestors were zebu cattle shipped from India: chiefly Kankrej, called Guzerá in Brazil, with Ongole (Nellore) and Gir blood.
What is the Indu-Brasil kept for?
Beef. It led Brazil's beef industry from about 1925 to 1945 and stayed important in beef production until the 1970s, though the Brazilian herd has since shrunk to roughly 900 head and the breed is now listed as endangered.
How big are Indu-Brasil cattle?
They are very large. Bulls average about 161 cm at the withers and 900 to 1200 kg; cows average 143 cm and 750 to 900 kg. The ears are exceptionally long, possibly the biggest of any cattle breed.
How does the breed cope with heat?
Well. It has good resistance to heat and to parasites and thrives in the tropics, which is why every one of the fourteen countries reporting it, from Brazil to Mexico, lies in Central or South America.
What other breeds came from the Indu-Brasil?
It was among the parents of the American Brahman in the United States. Since the 1970s, researchers at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México have selected it for small size, creating the Minivaca, a dwarf strain about 100 cm tall.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Indu-Brasil", 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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