Ankole-Watusi
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| Conservation status | FAO (2007): not listed[1]: 125 |
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| Country of origin | United States of America |
| Traits | |
| Weight | |
| Coat | usually red |
| Horn status | horned, large thick horns |
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The Ankole-Watusi is a modern American breed of domestic cattle. It derives from the Ankole group of Sanga cattle breeds of east and central Africa. It is characterized by very large horns.
History
The Ankole-Watusi derives from cattle of the Ankole group of Sanga cattle breeds of east and central Africa. Some of these were brought to Germany as zoo specimens in the early twentieth century, and from there spread to other European zoos. Some were imported to the United States, and in 1960 a herd was started in New York State by cross-breeding some of them with an unrelated Canadian bull.[2]: 110 A breed society, the Ankole Watusi International Registry, was set up in 1983,[2]: 110 and in 1989 a breed standard was drawn up.[4] In 2016 the total number for the breed was thought to be approximately 1500 head, some 80% of them in the United States.[2]: 110
In a 2020 study, Ankole-Watusi was found to have about 55% indicine ancestry, 32% African taurine (similar to N'Dama) ancestry, and 13% Friesian ancestry. For comparison, the "Ankole" sampled only showed about 3% Friesian ancestry.[5]: table 1
Characteristics
The Ankole-Watusi may be a number of different colors, but is usually red. The horns are unusually large, with a wide spread[2]: 110 and the largest circumference found in any cattle breed. Guinness World Records lists a bull named CT Woodie with a horn circumference of 103.5 cm (40.7 in) and a steer named Lurch, with horns measuring 95.25 cm (37.50 in), as record-holders.[6][7]
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In a safari park near Cambridge, Ontario, in Canada -
Bulls at the Living Desert Museum in California -
An Ankole-Watusi at an enclosure at a zoo.
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References
- ^ Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Accessed June 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ a b Breed data sheet: Ankole-Watusi/United States of America. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2017.
- ^ Ankole-Watusi Cattle. Ankole Watusi International Registry. Accessed June 2017.
- ^ Gebrehiwot, N. Z.; Strucken, E. M.; Aliloo, H.; Marshall, K.; Gibson, J. P. (December 2020). "The patterns of admixture, divergence, and ancestry of African cattle populations determined from genome-wide SNP data". BMC Genomics. 21 (1). doi:10.1186/s12864-020-07270-x.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Largest horn circumference – bull. Guinness World Records. Archived 11 October 2019.
- ^ Largest horn circumference – steer. Guinness World Records. Archived 19 October 2019.
External links
Media related to Ankole-Watusi at Wikimedia Commons
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