Zebu
50111
225113817
2008-07-11T23:06:01Z
Jonathan Cardy
4071608
disambig Buffalo
{{Taxobox
| name = Zebu
| image = Bos taurus indicus.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Artiodactyla]]
| familia = [[Bovid]]ae
| subfamilia = [[Bovinae]]
| genus = ''[[Bos]]''
| species = ''[[Cattle|B. primigenius]]''
| trinomial = ''Bos primigenius indicus''
| trinomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
}}
'''Zebus''' (''Bos primigenius indicus''), sometimes known as 'humped [[cattle]]' or 'indicus' cattle, are a type of cattle better-adapted to [[tropics|tropical]] environments than the other domestic [[cattle]], the ''Bos primigenius taurus'' or 'taurine' types{{Fact|date=October 2007}}. The scientific name of zebu cattle was originally ''Bos indicus'', but this name is now deemed invalid by [[Integrated Taxonomic Information System|ITIS]], who classify the zebu under ''Bos primigenius'' along with all other domestic cattle and their extinct [[aurochs]] ancestors. However, domestic cattle are sometimes regarded as a separate species to the aurochs, in which case Zebu are known as ''Bos taurus indicus''.
Zebu cattle are thought to be derived from the [[Asia]]n [[subspecies]] of [[aurochs]] ''Bos primigenius namadicus''<ref name="Vuure">Vuure, C. van. 2005. Retracing the Aurochs: History, Morphology and Ecology of an Extinct Wild Ox. Pensoft Publishers. Sofia-Moscow.</ref>. Another wild cattle species, the [[gaur]] (''Bos gaurus'') may also have contributed to their development{{Fact|date=October 2007}}. Probably the first species to vanish from the Indian wilderness, the wild [[zebu]] disappeared during the time of the Indus Valley civilisation from its range in the Indus basin and other spots of [[Pakistan]], possibly due to inter-breeding with domestic cattle and resultant fragmentation of wild populations due to loss of habitat.<ref name="IWH2">Rangarajan, M. (2001) India's Wildlife History, pp 4.</ref>
There are some 75 known breeds of zebu, split about evenly between African breeds and South Asian ones. The major Zebu cattle breeds of the world include [[Gir Cattle|Gir]], [[Kankrej cattle and Guzerat cattle|Guzerat]], [[Kankrej cattle and Guzerat cattle|Kankrej]], [[Indo-Brazilian]], [[Brahman (cattle)|Brahman]], [[Nelore]], [[Nelore|Ongole]], [[Sahiwal cattle|Sahiwal]], [[Red Sindhi]], [[Butana and Kenana cattle|Butana]], [[Butana and Kenana cattle|Kenana]], [[Boran cattle|Boran]], [[Baggara Cattle|Baggara]], [[Tharparkar (cattle)|Tharparker]], [[Kangeyam bull|Kangeyam]], [[Southern Yellow cattle|Chinese Southern Yellow]] and [[Philippine Native cattle|Philippine Native]]. The [[Sanga cattle]] breeds originated from hybridization of Zebu with indigenous humpless cattle in Africa; they include the [[Afrikaner cattle|Afrikaner]], [[Red Fulani cattle|Red Fulani]], [[Ankole-Watusi (cattle)|Ankole-Watusi]], and many other breeds of central and southern Africa. Sanga cattle can be distinguished from pure Zebu by having smaller humps located farther forward on the animals.
Zebu have humps on the shoulders, large [[dewlap]]s and droopy ears.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?zebu|publisher=Online Medical Dictionary|accessdate=2007-09-08|title=Definition: Zebu}}</ref> They have more sweat glands than taurine cattle, and have pest resistances not seen in European cattle{{Fact|date=October 2007}}.
[[Image:India.Mumbai.04.jpg|left|thumb|Draft zebu in [[Mumbai]], [[India]]]]
Because they were better adapted to hot environments{{Fact|date=October 2007}}, zebus were imported to Africa for hundreds of years and interbred with taurine cattle there. Genetic analysis of African cattle has found higher concentrations of zebu genes all along the east coast of Africa, and especially pure cattle on the island of [[Madagascar]], implying that the method of dispersal was cattle transported by ship. Partial resistance to [[rinderpest]] led to another increase in the frequency of zebus in Africa.
Zebu were imported into Brazil in the early twentieth century and crossbred to [[Charolais cattle]], a European taurine breed. The resulting breed, which consists of 5/8 Charolais and 3/8 Zebu, is called the [[Chanchim]]. It has a better meat quality than the zebu as well as better heat resistance than European cattle. The zebu breeds used were primarily Indo-Brazilian with some Nelore and Guzerat.
[[Image:Zébus de Madagascar 02.jpg|thumb|Zebus market in [[Madagascar]]]]
Many breeds are complex mixtures of the zebu and various taurine types, and some also have [[yak]], [[gaur]] or [[banteng]] genetics{{Fact|date=October 2007}}. While zebu are the common cattle in much of [[Asia]], the cattle of [[Japan]], [[Korea]] and [[Mongolia]] are taurine (although possibly domesticated separately from the other taurine cattle originating from [[Europe]] and [[Africa]]). Other species of cattle domesticated in parts of Asia include [[yak]], [[gaur]], [[banteng]] and [[Domestic buffalo|water buffalo]].
Bulls from the [[Brahman (cattle)|Brahman]] breed of zebu are often used for [[bullriding]] in [[rodeos]].<br>
In 1999, researchers at Texas A&M University successfully cloned a zebu bull. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/437391.stm]
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==Popular culture==
Zebu were immortalized in the [[Silly Songs with Larry]] tune "[[The Song of the Cebú]]". [[Larry the Cucumber]] defines a cebú as "kinda like a cow." At one point in the song, [[Larry]] says "...I think that's the bull's cousin. He's a cebú!" This is fairly accurate, as European cattle and zebu are members of the same species.
The Zebu is mentioned in a 1991 episode of [[The Simpsons]], "[[Blood Feud (The Simpsons episode)|Blood Feud]]," when Lisa teaches Maggie about more obscure animals, wanting to give Maggie "all the advantages that [she] didn't have." Lisa describes it as "an ox, only it has a hump and a dewlap."
In August 2007, a study by [[ITV]] television show [[Undercover Mothers]] found that a third of steaks served in [[Hungry Horse]] and two thirds served in [[Wetherspoon]] [[pub]]s in the UK were from Zebu or Zebu cross-breeds, as indicated by the presence of Zebu DNA markers in the meat (and not that the steaks were 67% zebu as reported in papers such as the [[Daily Mail]]). Welsh farm leaders claim Zebu meat is "notorious for its tough and poor eating quality."<ref>Undercover Mothers, ITV, [[2007-08-21]]</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Agriculture&F=1&id=12355|date=[[August 22]], [[2007]]|publisher=News Wales|accessdate=2007-08-22|title=Wales farmers beef about tough steaks}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=476612&in_page_id=1770|date[[August 20]],[[2007]]|publisher=Daily Mail|accessdate=2007-10-22|title=Zebu and chips, sir?}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Sacred cow]]s of India
*[[Domestic Asian Water Buffalo]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Cattle breeds]]
[[de:Zebu]]
[[et:Seebu]]
[[es:Bos taurus indicus]]
[[eo:Zebuo]]
[[fr:Zébu]]
[[id:Zebu]]
[[it:Bos taurus indicus]]
[[he:זבו]]
[[ka:ზებუ]]
[[nl:Zeboe]]
[[ja:瘤牛]]
[[pl:Zebu]]
[[pt:Zebu]]
[[ru:Зебу]]
[[fi:Seebu]]
[[wa:Zebu]]