Punganur

What do Punganur cattle look like?

The Punganur is a zebu, the humped branch of cattle, and one of the smallest breeds in that group. A cow measures about 97 cm at the withers, the ridge between the shoulder blades, and weighs some 170 kg. A bull is a little taller at roughly 107 cm and heavier at about 240 kg. The horns are small and curve like a crescent. Coats are mostly white, grey, brown or red, with black appearing now and then. It is a traditional breed of the district and lives in its hill country.

Where does the Punganur come from?

The Punganur comes from the hill country of Chitoor District, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Herds graze at heights of up to 1500 m above sea level. The breed may take its name from the town of Punganur, or from the Rajahs of Punganur. Numbers fell far enough for the breed to be counted endangered. A government herd set up in the 1950s to safeguard it did not succeed, and in 2007 the FAO put the breed in its critical class.

What the Punganur is known for

The breed is known above all for its small size. These are hill cattle, and a mature cow weighs only about 170 kg. A bull, at roughly 240 kg, is not a great deal heavier. Milk is uneven and varies from one cow to the next, but it is rich: fat content averages 5%. The animals are used for work as well as for milking.

How the Punganur is bred and kept

Punganur cattle are reared in the hill country of their home district, on grazing that runs up to 1500 m. Keeping the breed going has taken effort. A government conservation herd was begun in the 1950s but did not last, and in 2016 only about 30 head were left on a government farm, a very small nucleus. Recorded numbers have since risen a long way: 9876 to 13275 animals were reported to DAD-IS for 2022, and in 2024 the breed was classed as not at risk.

What the Punganur is kept for

The Punganur has two jobs, pulling and milking. Oxen provide draught, that is, they work in plough and cart. Cows are milked, though yields differ widely from animal to animal. The average cow gives about 546 kg across a lactation lasting some 263 days, which comes to roughly 2.07 kg a day. Fat in the milk averages 5%. Yields and the make-up of the milk are both highly variable, so these figures are only averages.

The land and climate of the Punganur

The breed belongs to hill country. Herds are reared on high ground in Chitoor District, and in places the grazing reaches 1500 m above sea level. The land is sloping and broken rather than flat plain. Andhra Pradesh, where the district lies, is in the south of India, and the Punganur is found within that home district.

Custom and folk tradition

Tradition holds that the breed takes its name from the town of Punganur or from the Rajahs of Punganur, the rulers once linked with it. The cattle have long been kept in the hills of the district, grazing at heights that can reach 1500 m, and they serve two purposes on the same holding: a cow's milk and an ox's work.

Numbers, conservation and the herd book

The breed's fortunes have swung sharply. The FAO classed it as critical in 2007. Nine years later, in 2016, a government farm kept no more than 30 head. Reporting to DAD-IS put the population for 2022 at somewhere between 9876 and 13275 animals. In 2024 the conservation status was given as not at risk.

From the Punganur

Questions people ask about Punganur

Good reading and sources

• Punganur cattle on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data