Ankole-Watusi

It belongs to the Sanga family of African cattle, which formed over 2,000 years ago from Egyptian Hamitic Longhorns crossed with Zebu Longhorns arriving from India. Sanga cattle spread across eastern Africa and split into many distinct breeds; the Nkole people's variety in Uganda is the Ankole, the Tutsi people's in Rwanda and Burundi the Watusi.

Two very different pressures shaped it. Cattle in Africa were ceremonial animals and stores of wealth, and a person's standing was read off their herd, with the size and shape of the horns counting for a great deal. At the same time natural selection was producing an animal that could graze rough forage efficiently and live on it.

The road to America ran through the zoos. Ankole cattle reached European zoos in the early 1900s and the United States in the 1920s and 1930s; an American breeding herd dates from 1960 in New York State, built partly by crossing to an unrelated Canadian bull. The Ankole Watusi International Registry formed in 1983 and finalized a breed standard in 1989.

Medium cattle under extraordinary horns: cows run 900 to 1,200 lb and bulls 1,000 to 1,600. The horns are long, symmetrical and large at the base; a bull named CT Woodie set a circumference record of 40.7 inches. Dark red is the dominant color, with dun and black occurring, solid or spotted. Calves are born small, at 30 to 50 lb.

The horns serve both masters. They are not only ornament: blood circulating through them disperses excess body heat, which is part of how the breed handles hot country.

Docile is the Conservancy's word, with a novice to intermediate rating and one caveat: the breed may be best suited to people already used to handling horned cattle. Everything about your facilities has to clear the horns.

Beef and dairy, by the Conservancy's listing. The milk runs around 10 percent butterfat and has been used in crossbreeding to raise the butterfat of other herds. Efficient production on rough forage is the other half of the offer.

Temperature extremes do not worry them; the Conservancy notes tolerance from 20 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. They graze rough forage efficiently and live on it. What they need from you is horn room: gates, chutes, feeders and the trailer, all sized for the widest animal you own.

Recovering on the Conservation Priority List. In the breed's African homelands, populations fell hard to civil war, economic upheaval and government-backed crossbreeding schemes, which leaves the American herds carrying much of the breed's future: an estimated 1,500 head worldwide around 2016, about 80 percent of them in the United States.

Papers come from the Ankole Watusi International Registry, formed in 1983. The American population began partly through crossing and the breed standard dates only to 1989, so ask about pedigree depth, not just registration.

Heifers typically calve first at around 24 months, and the calves come small. The cost side is the horns, and it is paid in infrastructure.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.