The only pure African taurine breeds ( Bos taurus africanus) remaining are the N'Dama, Kuri and some varieties of the West African Shorthorn. Breeders have attempted to recreate cattle of similar appearance to aurochs by crossing traditional types of domesticated cattle, creating the Heck cattle breed. In historical times, its range became restricted to Europe, and the last known individual died in Mazovia, Poland, in about 1627. The aurochs originally ranged throughout Europe, North Africa, and much of Asia. However, cattle cannot be successfully hybridized with more distantly related bovines such as water buffalo or African buffalo. The hybrid origin of some types may not be obvious – for example, genetic testing of the Dwarf Lulu breed, the only taurine-type cattle in Nepal, found them to be a mix of taurine cattle, zebu, and yak. Hybrids such as the beefalo breed can even occur between taurine cattle and either species of bison, leading some authors to consider them part of the genus Bos, as well. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between taurine cattle and zebu (such as the sanga cattle ( Bos taurus africanus x Bos indicus), but also between one or both of these and some other members of the genus Bos – yaks (the dzo or yattle ), banteng, and gaur. Ĭomplicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other closely related species. However, this taxonomy is contentious and some sources prefer the separate species classification, such as the American Society of Mammalogists' Mammal Diversity Database.
They were later reclassified as one species, Bos taurus, with the aurochs, zebu, and taurine cattle as subspecies. The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and taurine cattle. Ĭattle were originally identified as three separate species: Bos taurus, the European or "taurine" cattle (including similar types from Africa and Asia) Bos indicus, the Indicine or "zebu" and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs.
In 2009, cattle became one of the first livestock animals to have a fully mapped genome. Cattle are the main source of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, and are responsible for around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), there are approximately 1.5 billion cattle in the world as of 2018. A separate domestication event occurred in the Indian subcontinent, which gave rise to zebu. These types (which are sometimes classified as separate species or subspecies) are further divided into over 1000 recognized breeds.Īround 10,500 years ago, taurine cattle were domesticated from as few as 80 wild aurochs progenitors in central Anatolia, the Levant and Western Iran. Sanga cattle are found primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. Zebus (also called indicine cattle) are found primarily in India and tropical areas of Asia, America, and Australia. Taurine cattle are found primarily in Europe and temperate areas of Asia, the Americas, and Australia. Cattle, mostly small breeds such as the Miniature Zebu, are also kept as pets.ĭifferent types of cattle are common to different geographic areas. In some regions, such as parts of India, cattle have significant religious significance. Another product of cattle is their dung, which can be used to create manure or fuel. They are used as riding animals and draft animals ( oxen or bullocks, which pull carts, plows and other implements). Adult females are referred to as cows and adult males are referred to as bulls.Ĭattle are commonly raised as livestock for meat ( beef or veal, see beef cattle), for milk (see dairy cattle), and for hides, which are used to make leather. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus Bos. Cattle ( Bos taurus) are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores.
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