Malvi
A white or grey zebu of the Malwa plateau, kept for the yoke and poor at milk
The Malvi is a humped zebu breed of central India, from the Malwa plateau in the western part of Madhya Pradesh. Its coat is white or grey, its horns are lyre-shaped, and it is kept above all for draught work, since the cows give little milk.
- White or grey coat, with grey often over the shoulders
- Lyre-shaped horns on a humped zebu frame
- Bulls average 499 kg and 140 cm; cows 340 kg and 130 cm
- Kept as a draught breed; cows are low milkers
- FAO 2007: listed as not at risk
What do Malvi cattle look like?
The Malvi is a zebu, one of the humped cattle, and is placed in the indicus group. A grown bull measures roughly 140 cm at the withers, the bony ridge between the shoulders, and weighs about 499 kg on average. Cows are smaller and lighter, near 130 cm and 340 kg. The coat is white or grey, with grey often lying over the shoulders on a paler body. The horns are lyre-shaped: they sweep out and then back, rather like the two arms of the old stringed instrument. The breed is built for the yoke, not the milking shed.
Where does the Malvi come from?
The Malvi is named for the Malwa plateau, the upland tract in the western part of Madhya Pradesh, a state in the middle of India. That plateau is the breed's home, and Madhya Pradesh is where it is kept. Three other names are recorded for it: Malavi, Manthani and Mahadeopuri. In Indian breed writing it stands as a working animal, described as a good draught breed whose cows are poor milkers. Classified as a zebu, it sits among the humped cattle of the subcontinent.
How the Malvi is bred and kept
Breeding of the Malvi has centred on a government farm at Agar, in Shajapur district, Madhya Pradesh, where cattle of the breed have been studied for over fifty years. Herds are kept on the Malwa plateau, the western upland of Madhya Pradesh that gives the breed its home. It belongs to the humped zebu type, known as Bos indicus, the cattle of the Indian subcontinent.
Malvi, drawn
What the Malvi is kept for
The Malvi is a working breed. Oxen of this kind are described as good draught animals, the sort that haul a plough or a cart through the fields of the Malwa plateau. Milk is the weaker side of the breed: the cows are low yielders. So the Malvi suits a mixed holding where muscle counts for more than the pail, and where the cattle earn their feed in the yoke.
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
The FAO's 2007 review of farm animal genetic resources put the Malvi in the not-at-risk group, so at that date it was not counted among breeds in danger of being lost. Its range is Indian and central: Madhya Pradesh, with the Malwa plateau as its main ground. It is a humped zebu of the indicus type.
Questions people ask about Malvi
Where does the Malvi come from?
It comes from the Malwa plateau, the upland tract in the western part of Madhya Pradesh, in the middle of India. Madhya Pradesh is the state where the breed belongs, and it counts among the zebu, or humped, cattle of the subcontinent.
What is the Malvi kept for?
Mainly for work. Oxen of the breed are described as good draught animals, used for pulling ploughs and carts, and the cows are not heavy milkers. A farmer who keeps it is choosing muscle rather than a full pail.
What does a Malvi look like?
It is a humped zebu with a white or grey coat, grey often showing across the shoulders. The horns curve in a lyre shape. Bulls average about 499 kg and 140 cm at the withers; cows about 340 kg and 130 cm.
Is the breed in danger of disappearing?
The FAO's 2007 review classed it as not at risk, so it was not then thought to be vanishing. It is an Indian breed, kept in Madhya Pradesh on the Malwa plateau, and studied for over fifty years at a government farm in Shajapur district.
Is it a dairy breed?
No. The cows give little milk, and Indian breed writers treat the Malvi as a draught type. Its worth lies in the oxen, which are good workers.
Good reading and sources
- Malvi on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Malvi", 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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