Sosamma Iype

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Sosamma Iype
Born1941 (age 8283)
Nationality Indian
CitizenshipIndia
Alma materUnion Christian College, Aluva, Veterinary College, Mannuthy, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana.
OccupationAnimal Conservationist
Known forConservation of Vechur Cow
SpouseLate Dr. Abraham Varkey
ChildrenDr. Rebecca Varghese, George Abraham
Parent(s)Kottayil Varghese Iype and Mariamma Iype
AwardsIndia Biodiversity Award
HonoursPadma Shri

Sosamma Iype is an Indian animal conservationist from Niranam, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. She was the former Head of the Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding at the Kerala Veterinary University and was awarded the Padma Shri for the year 2022 by the Government of India for her services to conserve the Vechur cow, a native breed of cattle. [1] She has devoted her life to the conservation of the Vechur cows and is often called "Vechur Amma," literally meaning mother of Vechur cows. [2]

Contents

Biography

Sosamma Iype was born in 1941 at Niranam village in Thiruvalla of present-day Pathanamthitta district. She was a Professor and researcher at Kerala Veterinary University (formerly Mannuthy Veterinary College). [2] Sosamma, who holds a PhD from the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana worked as Head of the Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding at the Kerala Veterinary University. [2] She retired from Kerala Veterinary University in 2001 as the Director, Centre for Advanced Studies in Animal Genetics & Breeding. [3] Despite retiring from official life, Sosamma is still active in the Vechur Conservation Trust, an NGO formed for the conservation of domestic animals and birds of Kerala State. [4]

Personal life

She and her husband late Abraham Varkey (Retd. Professor of Surgery, Kerala Veterinary University) have two children Dr. Rebecca Varghese and George C Abraham. [4] She now lives in Mannuthy, Thrissur district. [4]

Conservation of Vechur Cows

The Vechur Cow is a rare breed of Bos indicus cattle named after the village Vechur in Kerala. Dr. Sosamma Iype with like-minded conservationists in Kerala, started a 30-year conservation project in 1989 to save the endangered Vechoor cows. [5] In the early nineties, Sosamma and her husband, Dr. Abraham Varkey, who was also a veterinarian, traveled for years with a group of young vet graduates to remote villages in the Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam districts in search of pure bred Vechur cows. [5] The 8 Vechur cows thus obtained were paid for and kept in the stables of the Kerala Veterinary University. [1] Multiple Ovulation and Embryo Transfer (MOET) technique was used for breeding the cows. [6] By 1998, the number of animals in the unit had increased and about 30 animals had been sold to cattle farmers to set up some field units. [6] At present there are about 7,000 Vechur cows in the state. [2] Her interventions are considered by some people to be the second major biodiversity conservation initiative in Kerala after the campaign to protect the environmentally vulnerable Silent Valley. [7]

Opponents of the project have accused that the group is working against government policy by reintroducing an unproductive cattle breed. [5] When the project was successful, Sosamma was accused of collaborating with the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh to patent the vechur cow's genetic code. Environmentalist Vandana Shiva had claimed that the Roslin Institute in Scotland obtained a patent for discovering the genetic makeup of Vechoor cows. [4] "The patent number is E.P.765390 and the scientists behind the project of Sosamma are behind it" Shiva said. [4] The national media and the international journal Nature published it with a great prominence. [4] But the investigations on this allegation proved to be false. [5] The controversy, which began in 1998, took two years to resolve. [4] Based on her experiences in conservation of Vechur cows, she has written a book named Vechur Pashu: Punarjanmam which literally means "Vechur Cow: Rebirth." [1]

Awards and honors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niranam</span> Village in Kerala, India

Niranam is a village in Thiruvalla, Kerala, India. It was a port in ancient Kerala, on the confluence of the Manimala and Pamba River. It is almost 7 km from Tiruvalla SCS Junction in Pathanamthitta District of Kerala, lies to the western part of Tiruvalla, identified as Upper Kuttanad region. It Is Part Of Thiruvalla Sub-District.Also Comes Under Thiruvalla Constituency.It is identified with Nelcynda in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belted Galloway</span> Scottish breed of cattle

The Belted Galloway is a traditional Scottish breed of beef cattle. It derives from the Galloway stock of the Galloway region of south-western Scotland, and was established as a separate breed in 1921. It is adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and windswept moorlands of the region. The exact origin of the breed is unclear, although the white belt for which they are named, and which distinguishes the breed from black Galloway cattle, is often surmised to be the result of cross-breeding with the similarly-coloured Dutch Lakenvelder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vechur cattle</span> Cattle breed

Vechur is a breed of zebu cattle, named after the village of Vechoor in Kerala, India. With an average length of 124 cm and height of 87 cm, it is the smallest cattle breed in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, and is valued for the larger amount of milk it produces relative to the amount of food it requires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy</span> Indian veterinary college

College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences is a veterinary college located at Mannuthy, Thrissur city of the Indian state of Kerala. The college is part of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerala Agricultural University</span> University in Kerala

Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) is a state university for agricultural education, recognised as a State Agricultural University by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It is situated in Vellanikkara, Kerala, India.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalmyk cattle</span> Cattle

Kalmyk cattle is a breed of beef cattle of the former Soviet Union, now found in the Russian Federation, in Kazakhstan and in Tajikistan. It is believed to have originated in Dzungaria, and to have been brought into south-eastern Russia by migrating Kalmyks in the seventeenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Grey</span> Ukrainian breed of cattle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armoricaine</span> French breed of cattle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringamålako</span> Breed of cattle

The Ringamålako is an endangered Swedish breed of dairy cattle. It is named for the village of Ringamåla in the southern Swedish county of Blekinge, and is found primarily in southern Sweden. It is similar to the type of Swedish Red-and-White cattle of the 1940s, and is considered a valuable genetic resource.

Miniature cattle are found in various parts of the world. Some, such as the Dexter of Ireland and the Vechur of Kerala, India, are traditional breeds; others have been created by selective breeding. The Australian Lowline was the unexpected result of a scientific experiment. Some, but not all, miniature breeds display achondroplasia, or dwarfism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telemarkfe</span> Breed of cattle

The Telemarkfe or Telemark is a traditional Norwegian breed of dairy cattle. It originated in, and is named for, the county of Telemark in central southern Norway. In the second half of the nineteenth century it spread – with official encouragement – to most of the eastern and southern part of the country. In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed, with a total population of fewer than 600 head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fjäll</span> Swedish breed of cattle

The Fjäll is a traditional Swedish breed of polled mountain cattle. It was threatened with extinction in the 1970s and 1980s, but recovered after a breed association was formed in 1995, partly thanks to stocks of frozen semen. Microsatellite analysis has shown it to be closely related to the endangered Bohuskulla breed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University</span> University in Kerala

Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) is a university established by the Government of Kerala in December 2010 to further education, research and extension services in the field of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. The territorial jurisdiction of the university extends to the whole of the State of Kerala. Its headquarters is located at Pookode near Kalpetta in Wayanad District in Kerala State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ongole cattle</span> Breed of cattle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roslin Institute</span> Scottish animal sciences research institute

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Väneko</span> Swedish breed of cattle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Friesian</span> Breed of cattle

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References

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  3. Daily, Keralakaumudi. "ലേഖനമെഴുതാൻ അന്വേഷിച്ചു; വെച്ചൂർ പശുവിന്റെ പോറ്റമ്മയായി". Keralakaumudi Daily.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 സേതുമാധവന്‍, ഡോ ടി പി. "കല്ലും മുള്ളും താണ്ടി ഡോ.ശോശാമ്മ ഐപ്പ് തീര്‍ത്ത 'വെച്ചൂര്‍ വിപ്ലവം'". Mathrubhumi (in Malayalam).
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Holy Cow Small Packs a Big Punch". The New Indian Express . 20 December 2014.
  6. 1 2 Choubey, Alin. "Conservation of Vechur Cattle by Dr. Sossama Iype, Kerala – Nature-based solutions".
  7. Jan 26, T. Ramavarman /. "vechur: Honour For Her Conservation Efforts | Kochi News - Times of India". The Times of India.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. "Sosamma Iype awarded India Biodiversity Award for her conservation work with Vechur cattle". iMalayalee MultiChannel News Portal. 27 May 2016.