 Grazing on the shores of Ooty Lake. | |
| Country of origin | India |
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The Nilgiri is an Indian breed of sheep. It is found only in Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu State in southern India. It is bred in the hilly parts of Nilgiri and yields fine wool. [1] A national plan has been implemented to save the Nilgiri from extinction by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Conservation.
Some statistics pertaining to the breed are: [2]
Ooty, officially known as Udhagamandalam, is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 86 km (53 mi) north west of Coimbatore and 128 km (80 mi) south of Mysore and is the headquarters of the Nilgiris district. It is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills. It is popularly and lovingly called Queen of Hill Stations and Western Ghats. It was the summer capital of Madras Presidency.
Tahrs or tehrs are large artiodactyl ungulates related to goats and sheep. There are three species, all native to Asia. Previously thought to be closely related to each other and placed in a single genus, Hemitragus, genetic studies have since proven that they are not so closely related and they are now considered as members of three separate monotypic genera: Hemitragus is now reserved for the Himalayan tahr, Nilgiritragus for the Nilgiri tahr, and Arabitragus for the Arabian tahr.
The Western Ghats or the Sahyadri Mountain range is a mountain range that covers an area of 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi) in a stretch of 1,600 km (990 mi) parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, traversing the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight biodiversity hotspots in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. It contains a very large proportion of the country's flora and fauna, many of which are endemic to this region. According to UNESCO, the Western Ghats are older than the Himalayas. They influence Indian monsoon weather patterns by intercepting the rain-laden monsoon winds that sweep in from the south-west during late summer. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain called Konkan along the Arabian Sea. A total of 39 areas in the Western Ghats, including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests, were designated as world heritage sites in 2012 – twenty in Kerala, ten in Karnataka, six in Tamil Nadu and four in Maharashtra.
The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the breed were not allowed, and those who tried risked the death penalty. During the eighteenth century, flocks were sent to the courts of a number of European countries, including France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Prussia, Saxony and Sweden. The Merino subsequently spread to many parts of the world, including South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Numerous recognised breeds, strains and variants have developed from the original type; these include, among others, the American Merino and Delaine Merino in the Americas, the Australian Merino, Booroola Merino and Peppin Merino in Oceania, the Gentile di Puglia, Merinolandschaf and Rambouillet in Europe.
The North Ronaldsay or Orkney is a breed of sheep from North Ronaldsay, the northernmost island of Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland. It belongs to the Northern European short-tailed sheep group of breeds, and has evolved without much cross-breeding with modern breeds. It is a smaller sheep than most, with the rams (males) horned and ewes (females) mostly hornless. It was formerly kept primarily for wool, but now the two largest flocks are feral, one on North Ronaldsay and another on the Orkney island of Auskerry. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust lists the breed as a priority on its 2021–2022 watchlist, and they are in danger of extinction, with fewer than 600 registered breeding females in the United Kingdom.
The Nilgiris district is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The Nilgiri Hills are part of a larger mountain chain known as the Western Ghats. Their highest point is the mountain of Doddabetta, height 2,637 m. The district is contained mainly within the Nilgiri Mountains range. The administrative headquarters is located at Ooty. The district is bounded by Malappuram district of Kerala to the west, Coimbatore and Palakkad to the south, Erode to the east, and Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka and Wayanad district of Kerala to the north. As it is located at the junction of three states, namely, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, significant Malayali and Kannadiga populations reside in the district. Nilgiris district is known for natural mines of Gold, which is also seen in the other parts of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve extended in the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Kerala too.
Coonoor is a Taluk and a municipality of the Nilgiris district in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494.
The Rajapalayam, also known as the Polygar Hound, Shikkar Hound, or Indian Ghost Hound, is a southern Indian dog breed. Rajapalayam is a town in the Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu.
The Jacob is a British breed of domestic sheep. It combines two characteristics unusual in sheep: it is piebald—dark-coloured with areas of white wool—and it is often polycerate or multi-horned. It most commonly has four horns. The origin of the breed is not known; broken-coloured polycerate sheep were present in England by the middle of the seventeenth century, and were widespread a century later. A breed society was formed in 1969, and a flock book was published from 1972.
The Hampshire or Hampshire Down is a breed of sheep which originated around 1829 from a cross of Southdowns with the Old Hampshire breed, the Wiltshire Horn, and the Berkshire Nott, all horned, white-faced sheep — these were native to the open, untilled, hilly stretch of land known as the Hampshire Downs. The Hampshire Down is the worlds leading terminal sire breed.
Swaledale is a breed of domestic sheep named after the Yorkshire valley of Swaledale in England. They are found throughout the more mountainous areas of Great Britain, but particularly in the Yorkshire Dales, County Durham, and around the pennine fells of Cumbria.
The Dorset Horn is an endangered British breed of domestic sheep. It is documented from the seventeenth century, and is highly prolific, sometimes producing two lambing seasons per year. Among British sheep, it is the only breed capable of breeding throughout the winter.
The Roslag sheep is a breed of endangered domesticated sheep that originated in and is almost exclusively found in Sweden.
The Boreray, also known as the Boreray Blackface or Hebridean Blackface, is a breed of sheep originating on the St Kilda archipelago off the west coast of Scotland and surviving as a feral animal on one of the islands, Boreray. The breed was once reared for meat and wool, but is now used mainly for conservation grazing. The Boreray is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group of breeds.
Mannavanur, is a farming village of 1437 households in Mannavanor Panchayat, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, India, 35 kilometres (22 mi) west from Kodaikanal It is 7 kilometres (4 mi) by road from Kumbur village and 9 kilometres (6 mi) from Kilanavayal village. Altitude is 1,880 metres (6,170 ft).
Ruda is a breed of sheep found mostly in Albania and Croatia. In 2009, Ruda sheep is the most endangered breed of sheep in the Republic of Croatia. The Ruda sheep originated from the Romanian Tsigai, a fine fleeced sheep in the Balkans. The Ruda may be related to the Romanian Tsigai. This breed is primarily raised for wool.
The Appenninica is a modern breed of sheep from the central Apennine mountains of Italy. It is raised principally in Tuscany and Umbria, but also in Abruzzo, Emilia–Romagna, Lazio, the Marche and Campania. The breed was created in the 1970s by cross-breeding and subsequent selection of local breeds such as the Bariscianese, the Casentinese, the Chietina Varzese, the Pagliarola, the Perugina del piano, the Pomarancina, the Senese delle Creti and the Vissana with Bergamasca rams and with the French Ile-de-France and Berrichon du Cher, with the aim of increasing the meat yield. The breed was recognised in 1980 and a herdbook established in 1981. Although this is a medium-coarse wool breed, it is raised primarily for meat.
The ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute (ICAR-CSWRI) is an Indian Council of Agricultural Research subsidiary commissioned for research, training and extension activities related to sheep and rabbits. The institute is an autonomous body and is sponsored by the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. It is situated in Avikanagar, Malpura, in Rajasthan, India. It works in close liaison with the other ICAR institutes, Central Wool Development Board, Sheep and Wool Marketing Federation, Department of Biotechnology (GOI), Small Entrepreneurs, NGOs, State Animal Husbandry and Khadi gram and Cottage industries.
The Umblachery is an Indian breed of zebuine cattle. It is distributed in the coastal plains of the districts of Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Thanjavur in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. It was bred for draught work, particularly in the rice paddies of the area.
The Orkhon is a Mongolian breed of sheep first developed in 1961. This medium, semi-fine wool breed is now reared primarily for wool.
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