Punganur dwarf cattle which originated from the

Chitoor District Chittoor district () is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The district headquarters is located at Chittoor. It has a population of 4,170,468 accordin ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

in southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

is among the world's smallest humped

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

breeds. The Punganur breed's milk has a high fat content. While cow milk normally has a fat content of 3 to 3.5 per cent, the Punganur breed's milk contains 8 per cent.

Description

The breed is named after the town of its origin,

Punganur Punganur is a Municipality city in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Punganur Mandel of Palamaner Revenue Division. The Punganur cow, a distinct breed, is named after the town of its origin. Whi ...

, in Chittoor district situated in the south-eastern tip of the Deccan Plateau. Animals are white and light grey in colour with a broad forehead and short horns. Its average height is 70–90 cm and its weight is 115–200 kg. The cow has an average milk yield of 3 to 5 litres/day and has a daily feed intake of 5 kg. It is highly drought resistant, and able to survive exclusively on dry fodder. Some of the breed characteristics are: * Back sloping downwards from front to hind quarters. * Tail touching the ground. * Slight mobile horns, almost flat along the back and normally at different heights from each other.

Nearly Extinct

The Punganur is on the verge of extinction, with some 500 to 600 animals as per Govt Doctors odd animals remaining. This decline is mainly due to the Indian Government's 2013 objective of 'bettering' Indian cattle breeds with Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle traits from developed countries, and banning the rearing of native bull breeds. The remaining Punganur cattle are being reared mainly on the Livestock Research Station, Palamaner, Chittoor district, attached to SV Veterinary University. A small informal group of private breeders are also working on reviving the breed. It is not officially recognised as a breed since there are only a few animals remaining.

References

* * Cattle breeds originating in India Cattle breeds Animal husbandry in Andhra Pradesh {{cattle-stub