Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about
THE ZEBU
The zebu, sometimes known in the plural as indicine cattle or humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in the Indian sub-continent. Zebu are characterised 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 tropical countries, both as pure zebu and as hybrids with taurine cattle, the other main type of domestic cattle. Zebu are used as draught and riding animals, dairy cattle, and beef cattle, as well as for byproducts such as hides and dung for fuel and manure. Some small breeds such as the miniature zebu are also kept as pets. In 1999, researchers at Texas A&M University successfully cloned a zebu.
In some regions, such as parts of India, cattle, especially zebu, have significant religious meaning.
The scientific name Bos indicus was introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for humped cattle in China. The zebu was classified as a distinct species by Juliet Clutton-Brock in 1999, but as a subspecies of the domestic cattle, Bos taurus indicus, by Peter Grubb in 2005. In 2011, Colin Groves and Peter Grubb classified it as a distinct species again. The American Society of Mammalogists also considers it to be a species.
Zebu cattle are thought to be derived from the Indian aurochs Bos primigenius namadicus, a subspecies of the aurochs. Wild Asian aurochs disappeared during the time of the Indus Valley Civilisation from its range in the Indus River basin and other parts of the South Asian region possibly due to interbreeding with domestic zebu and resultant fragmentation of wild populations due to loss of habitat.
Archaeological evidence including depictions on pottery and rocks suggests that it was present in Egypt around 2000 BC and thought to be imported from the Near East or south. It is thought to have first appeared in sub-Saharan Africa between 700 and 1500 and was introduced to the Horn of Africa around 1000.
Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all the zebu Y chromosome haplotype groups are found in three different lineages: Y3A, the most predominant and cosmopolitan lineage; Y3B, only observed in West Africa; and Y3C, predominant in south and northeast India.
Breeds and hybrids
Some 75 breeds of zebu are known, split about evenly between African breeds and Indian ones. The major zebu cattle breeds of the world include Gyr, Kankrej and Guzerat, Indo-Brazilian, Brahman, Sibi Bhagnari, White Nukra, Acchai, Cholistani, Dhanni, Lohani, Nelore, Ongole, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Butana and Kenana, Baggara, Tharparkar, Kangayam, Southern Yellow, Kedah-Kelantan and Local Indian Dairy (LID). Kedah-Kelantan and LID originated from Malaysia. Other breeds of zebu are quite local, like the Hariana of Haryana and eastern Punjab or the Rath of Alwar district in eastern Rajasthan.
Zebu, which can tolerate extreme heat, were imported into Brazil in the early 20th century. Their importation marked a change in cattle ranching in Brazil, where feral cattle had grazed freely on extensive pasturage, and bred without animal husbandry. Zebu were considered "ecological" since they could graze on natural grasses and their meat was lean and without chemical residues.
And as always have a chilled day from the Viking
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