Watussi, or Ankole-watusi (Bos taurus taurus)— wild bull originally from Africa. They are distinguished from other artiodactyls by their very long horns, reaching 1.8 meters.

Like many other breeds of cows, the Watussi comes from a breed that became extinct in the 17th century. primitive tours. Wild bulls (turs), about four thousand years ago came to Africa from the banks of the Nile, where to this day their images are preserved on the walls of the pyramids

Around the same time, humpbacked zebu bulls moved from India and Pakistan to what is now Ethiopia and Somalia and gradually crossed with Egyptian cows, resulting in a species that became the basis for many breeds of African cattle.

In the countries of East Africa - Rwanda and Burundi, the offspring of Egyptian and Indian bulls were called "Watusi", and their neighbors, the Ugandan Nkole tribes, gave the new breed the name "Ankole".

In Rwanda, where long time Ruled by the Tutsi tribe, the Watussi were known as “insanga” - “once found” or “inyambo” - “cows with very long horns”. Animals with the largest horns ended up in the herd of the king of the tribe and were considered sacred.

The lyre-shaped or cylindrical shape of the horns was considered the most preferable. The longer the horns, the wider they are at the base, and the weight of each horn is about 45 kilograms.

There are also record holders who are included in the Guinness Book of Records. The bull is named Lurch; its horns reach a girth of 92.25 cm and weigh 50 kilograms each.

Watussi played an important role in the life of many tribes in Africa - Tutsi, Ankole, Bahima, Bashi, Kigezi, Kivu. The Maasai tribe not only breeds Watussi, but also eats their blood diluted with milk.

In tribes where bulls and cows of the Ankole-Watusi breed were considered sacred, they were almost never used as a source of meat, since the wealth of their owners was determined by the number of live cattle. All the attention of the owners was focused on obtaining the maximum amount of milk, and even a special technology was developed.

The cow grazed all day, and in the evening she was driven to the calf, which was allowed to take only a couple of sips to stimulate milk production. After which the cow was milked, leaving the calf practically on a starvation diet. The same thing was repeated in the morning, as a result, the young animals died before reaching adulthood.

Watussi bulls are common not only in Africa, but also live in America, where in the 1960s. Walter Schultz brought two bulls and one female, after which the Watussi quickly spread across the American continent. Thanks to their vitality, Watussi bulls “conquered” the New World. They are also found in Ukraine and Crimea.

The weight of adult bulls reaches 600-730 kilograms, cows - 400-550, and the weight of a calf during the first months of life does not exceed 15-23 kilograms.

Their digestive system is capable of digesting very rough food and can withstand limited amounts of food and water. Their tenacity allowed them not only to survive in Africa for centuries, but also
spread to other continents.

Watussi horns are penetrated by a system of blood vessels and are used for thermoregulation in the heat. The blood circulating through the horns is cooled by air currents, and then returns to the body and lowers its temperature. This quality is indispensable in Ankole habitats, where temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius.

The Ankole Watusi have highly developed instincts to protect the young. When settling down for the night, the adults lie down in a circle, and all the calves are herded to the center, for greater safety.

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Africa Tur → Reference materials → Africa: encyclopedic reference book. Volume. 2. K-I → CATTLE

CATTLE

CATTLE, domestic artiodactyl ruminants of the family. bovids (Bovidae), a genus of true bulls (Bos). In Africa, local cattle, which form the basis of the total livestock, belong to 4 types: 2 types of humpless cattle (Bos taurus) - longhorn (longhorn) and shorthorn (shorthorn type); humpback (Bos indicus) - zebu; sanga (obtained from crossing zebu and humpless cattle).

Naib, a common breed of humpless long-horned cattle - n'dama. Breeding areas - countries of Western Africa. The animals are short (bull weight 220-420 kg), with light bones, poorly developed dewlap and abdominal fold. Horns (length 45- 50 cm) crescent or lyre shape. The color is often yellow, yellow-brown. Milk production is low - 150-270 kg of milk per lactation with a fat content of 6.5-7.0%. Adapted to a humid tropical climate, they have hereditary resistance to trypanosomiasis and piroplasmosis. Humpless cattle of the Kuri breed (Chad, Nigeria, Niger) are the largest, largest (weight 300-800 kg) among the breeds of Western Africa, with giant (length 70-130 cm), but light club-shaped horns, white, light gray or grayish-brown color. Milk production 350-800 kg, sometimes up to 1800 kg of milk per lactation. Adapted to hot, humid climates, swims well.

Western-African Shorthorn - a group of humpless, short-horned breeds, of which the most common are the so-called. Savannah Shorthorns - Baole (Côte Divoire, Burkina Faso), Samba (Togo and Benin), Savannah Muturu (Nigeria), Bakosi, Doayo and Kapsiki (Cameroon), as well as Dwarf Shorthorns - Lagune (Côte Divoire, Togo , Benin) and forest muturu (Liberia, Nigeria). Animals are mostly black and black and white. Milk productivity is low (120 -360 kg of milk).

Boran is a breed of zebu, common in the countries of the East. and North-East. Africa. The animals are large, high-legged, with an erect chest hump and small horns. The color is usually white or gray, but also red and spotted. With semi-nomadic pasture farming, they are used to produce milk (450-1800 kg, sometimes up to 2500 kg per lactation, fat content 4.1-6.8%). In most parts of the East. Africa widespread small East African. zebu, including the breeds Mongalla (eastern part of Sudan), Bukedi (Uganda), Nandi (Kenya), Tanzanian and Zanzibar zebu. The animals are small, squat, with a hump that falls onto the back or side. The color is gray, grayish-brown, brown. They are used to produce meat and milk (for Bukedi 230-1000 kg per lactation, for other breeds it is lower).

Sanga cattle, distributed in the Center and South. Africa, unites several. The most common breeds are Nguni (Swaziland, South Africa, Mozambique), Afrikaner (South Africa), and Tuli (Zimbabwe). Animals mainly have a cervicothoracic hump, with long horns, etc. forms. They are kept for milk (600-1500 kg per lactation) and meat.

In Africa, domestic short-horned buffaloes are also bred (Egypt, from where they were brought to Tanzania) - dairy animals (1200-1800 kg of milk with a fat content of about 8.5%), meat animals (the live weight of bulls is about 700 km) and working animals. Livestock K. r. With. in Africa (1981) 171 million, meat production 2.87 million tons, milk 10.34 million tons. Avg. year. milk yield per cow is 493 kg of milk. Wed. carcass weight of slaughtered cattle is 139 kg. Milk production per capita is 22.02 kg, meat 5.92 kg. L. V. Kulikov. CRUZ (Cruz) Joaquim Jose da (date of birth and death unknown), leader of the anti-Portuguese. uprisings in the beginning 50s 19th century in the bass R. Zambezi (in the territory of modern Mozambique). Inflicting serious defeats on the Portuguese. army, K. imposed duties on all of Portugal. trade on the river Zambezi. A number of expeditions organized against K. ended in failure. After the death of C., his son Antonio Vicenti (or Bonga) destroyed the Portuguese in 1853. fort at Tete. K.'s other son also continued the struggle. Only in 1888 did the Portuguese manage to suppress the uprising.