The zebu, sometimes known in the plural as indicine cattle, Camel cow or humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in South Asia. Zebu, like many Sanga cattle breeds, differs from taurine cattle by a fatty hump on their shoulders, a large dewlap, and sometimes drooping ears. They are well adapted to withstanding high temperatures and are farmed throughout the tropics.
The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigrai Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan (Tegaru), Irob people and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is the fifth-largest by area, the fourth-most populous, and the fifth-most densely populated of the 11 regional states.
The Afrikaner or Africander is an African breed of taurine-indicine cattle in the Sanga group of African cattle. It is derived from the cattle of the Khoikhoi (Hottentot) people which were already present in the area of modern South Africa when the Dutch East India Company established the Cape Colony in 1652.
A bovid hybrid is the hybrid offspring of members of two different species of the bovid family. There are 143 extant species of bovid, and the widespread domestication of several species has led to an interest in hybridisation for the purpose of encouraging traits useful to humans, and to preserve declining populations. Bovid hybrids may occur naturally through undirected interbreeding, traditional pastoral practices, or may be the result of modern interventions, sometimes bringing together species from different parts of the world.
The Senepol breed of beef cattle was developed on the Caribbean Island of St. Croix. It has long been thought that Senepol originated from just crosses between N'Dama cattle, imported in the late 19th century, and Red Poll cattle, but it is actually an admixed breed that consists of Red Poll, N'Dama, Criola and a trace amount of Zebu. The Senepol breed combines characteristics of heat tolerance and insect resistance with the docile nature, good meat, and high milk production of the Red Poll. They are polled, short haired, and colored red, black or brown.
Boran cattle are a popular Zebu beef breed in eastern Africa.
Tanqua Abergele is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, or woredas, in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Mehakelegnaw Zone, Abergele is bordered on the south by the Wag Hemra Zone of Amhara Region, then by the Tekezé River on the west which separates it from North Gondar Zone of Amhara Region, on the north by Kola Tembien, on the east by Degua Tembien and on the southeast by the Debub Misraqawi Zone. The administrative center of this woreda is Yechila; other towns in Abergele include Sele and Jijike. Abergele is one of the low lying districts of central Tigray and the Tanqua River, which originates near Hagere Selam, flows through this woreda and joins the Geba just north of Jijike. It further feeds the Tekezé River. The Tekezé Dam is also located in this woreda.
The Abyssinian Shorthorned Zebu is an Ethiopian breed or group of breeds of zebuine cattle. It is not reported to DAD-IS as a breed.
Baggara cattle are an autochthonous Sudanese breed part of the shorthorned Zebu group of breeds of eastern Africa. Baggara cattle are smaller and thinner than the Boran breed of Kenya and Ethiopia. They are named for the Baggara people of western Sudan and central Chad, who raise Baggara cattle primarily for beef. Baggara means cattle people in the Shuwa Arabic language of these people. The related Butana and Kenana breeds of the Nile Valley are dairy breeds and need much more feed and water than the Baggara.
Sanga cattle is the collective name for indigenous cattle of sub-Saharan Africa. They are sometimes identified as a subspecies with the scientific name Bos taurus africanus. Their history of domestication and their origins in relation to taurine cattle, zebu cattle (indicine), and native African varieties of the ancestral aurochs are a matter of debate. "African taurine", "sanga", "zenga", "sheko", "African indicine" are all sub-groups of Sanga cattle.
The Indian aurochs is an extinct subspecies of aurochs that inhabited West Asia and the Indian subcontinent from the Late Pleistocene until its eventual extinction during the South Asian Stone Age. With no remains younger than 3,800 YBP ever recovered, the Indian aurochs was the first of the three aurochs subspecies to become extinct; the Eurasian aurochs and the North African aurochs persevered longer, with the latter bring known by the Roman Empire, and the former surviving until the mid-17th century in Central Europe.
Cattle are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus Bos. Mature female cattle are called cows and mature male cattle are bulls. Young female cattle are called heifers, young male cattle are oxen or bullocks, and castrated male cattle are known as steers.
The Drakensberger is a South African breed of cattle. It is a dual-purpose breed, reared both for milk and for meat. Its origins go back to the early nineteenth century, to the time of the Great Trek or earlier, when imported European stock from Holland was cross-bred with black cattle of Sanga type obtained from nomadic pastoralist Khoikhoi peoples. It is one of several successful African composite breeds of Sanga and European stock. In the early days it was selected for adaptation to the sourveld biome of South Africa, and for black colour; it was kept principally along the Drakensberg escarpment, which gave rise to its modern name. It was established as a breed with the formation of the Drakensberger Cattle Breeders' Society in 1947.
The red and black coated Arado cattle are small and hardy. They are the most common cattle variety in the north Ethiopian highlands. The Arado breed is part of the Zenga breed group. It is essentially reared for draught power, particularly tillage. The breed feeds mainly on crop residues; it is adapted to seasonal feed shortages. This breed is often cross-bred through bull and artificial insemination services.
The Afar cattle are mainly found on the western margins of the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia. The Afar cattle have thick and long horns and a cervicothoracic hump; they are essentially reared for milk production.
The Abergele cattle are the smallest breed of cattle in north Ethiopia. They are reared in the Abergele lowlands and at the southwestern lower slopes of Dogu'a Tembien district. Abergele cattle are part of the Zenga breed group. The Abergele breed is known for its adaptation to the hotter and drier lowlands. It is also very tolerant to diseases and parasites and can cope with feed shortages during long dry periods.
Begayt is an Ethiopian breed of cattle. Currently there are ongoing cross-breeding programmes with Arado cattle, in an attempt to increase the milk production of the latter.
Fogera cattle is an Ethiopian breed of cattle. One of its typical characteristics are broad hoofs, that allow it to move more easily in the marshes of the Fogera Plain. At Woreta, the agricultural research centre specialises in preserving the breed.
In the crop growing season, transhumance is practised on a broad scale in the northern Ethiopian highlands, as farmland and its stubble can no longer be accessed by livestock.
Tanqua Millash is a district in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Central Tigray zone, Tanqua Millash was created from parts of the Tanqua Abergelle and Dogu’a Tembien in 2020. Agbe is the capital of this district.
