Indian Indigenous Cattle

Efforts to conserve the Toda buffalo, a unique breed among the Indian breeds of buffaloes received a boost on Tuesday with a seminar on ‘Protection of Toda Buffaloes’ being organised under the aegis of the Department of Animal Husbandry. Presiding over the seminar The Nilgiris Collector P. Sankar underscored the role of the Toda buffalo in preserving the culture of the ancient community. Pointing out that buffaloes touched practically every aspect of a Toda’s life, he said that it formed part of their religion. Stating that without its buffaloes the Toda community will not be complete, Mr. Sankar regretted that the population of the buffaloes which was about 15,000 to 20,000 at one time has dwindled to less than 2000. Adverting to the factors listed for the steep drop in population like difficulty in getting grass during the dry seasons, lack of steps to prevent diseases and attacks by carnivores, he said that steps should be taken to check them. Awareness abo...

The Pulikulam bulls at an expo held at Muthazhagupatti near Dindigul on Thursday. — PHOTO: G. KARTHIKEYAN Their population has come down from 95,000 in 1995 to 45,000 now Even as the ban on ‘jallikattu’ poses a grave threat to survival of bulls, the State government has initiated steps to protect and promote the Pulikulam breed that provides raging bulls for the rural sport. To propagate other uses of the Pulikulam breed among farmers and encourage bull-rearers to maintain this breed, the Department of Animal Husbandry organised a Pulikulam cattle expo at Muthazhagupatti village on Thursday. “We spend Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 a year to maintain a ‘jallikattu’ bull,” said P. Murugan of Pillamanaickenpatti. The population of Pulikulam cattle was 95,000 in 1995 and it dwindled sharply later. A recent survey put the population at 45,000. “Ninety nine per cent of Pulikulam cattle is bred and maintained by traditional cowherds. Such a drive is necessary to...

   THRISSUR: The Vechur cow, a rare breed of Bos indicus cattle with an average length of 124 cm and height of 87 cm, is all set to join the elite club of the ‘micro-chipped livestock’ in the world on Monday as the authorities have made elaborate arrangements to tag the indigenous cattle species with pet microchips that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. The Vechur Conservation Trust, a body formed to conserve domestic animal diversity in the state, will officially begin the drive of electronically tagging Vechur cows and distributing the pedigree certificate to the owners of the cows at a function to be held in Kottayam on Monday. Dr Sosamma Iype, Professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics, who is instrumental in popularising the Vechur breed in the country, said the Trust came forward with this venture of tagging the animals following widespread complaints of genetic pollution in the rare species of this local cow variety. The unsc...

The two species endowed with protective genes, finds study Vechur cow and Kasaragod Dwarf, two popular native cattle breeds noted for their disease resistance and low maintenance, have been proved to possess thermometer genes for heat tolerance, making them ideal candidates for selective breeding. A team of researchers from the Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) and Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) have come up with the finding that the two species are endowed with the protective genes that make them tolerant to heat stress. The finding is significant in the light of the imminent threat posed by global warming and climate change to livestock production in Kerala. Presenting a research paper on the work at the National Biodiversity Congress here last week, Muhammed E.M, District Epidemiologist, Animal Disease Control Project, Kalpetta, said the findings would be useful in the selection of heat-tolerant breeds among tropical ani...