Ankole-Watusi cattle are the most impressive
looking of the bovine kingdom. Medium-sized animals, with long,
large-diameter horns, they attract attention
wherever they appear. These regal animals can easily
trace their ancestry back more than 6,000 years and
are referred to as the "cattle of kings."
Long-horned, humpless domestic cattle were well
established in the Nile Valley by 4000 B.C. These
cattle, known as the Egyptian or Hamitic Longhorn,
appear in pictographs in Egyptian pyramids. Over the
next 2.000 years the Egyptian
Longhorn migrated with its owners from the Nile to
Ethiopia, and then down to the southern reaches of
Africa.
By 2000 B. C., humped cattle (Longhorn Zebu) from
Pakistan and India reached Africa. When these Zebu
reached the region now known as Ethiopia and
Somalia, they were interbred with the Egyptian
Longhorn. The admixture produced -- the Sanga --
spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and other parts
of eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of many
of the indigenous African breeds. The Sanga
demonstrated most of the typical Zebu
characteristics, such as pendulous dewlap and
sheath, upturned horns, and a neck hump of variable
size. Modern descendants of the Sanga, however, vary
greatly in size, conformation, and horns, due to
differing selection pressures by different tribes.
Particularly remarkable are the cattle found in
Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. In Uganda, the Nkole
tribe's Sanga variety is known as the Ankole. In
Rwanda and Burundi, the Tutsi tribe's Sanga variety
is called the Watusi. The Rwanda common strain of
Watusi is called Inkuku. The giant-horned strain,
owned by the Tutsi kings and chiefs, is called the
Inyambo, though some current tribal reports claim
that this type is now extinct. Traditionally,
Ankole-Watusi were considered sacred.
Watusi first came to America in the
1960s when Walter Schultz imported
two bulls from zoos in Scandinavia and a
female from Europe. Thanks to the
efforts of private breeders, zoos,
and associations, this magnificent
animal is no longer endangered, but
bred to encourage the finer aspects
of appearance and hardiness. Their
digestive systems have the ability
to utilize poor quality and limited
quantities of food and water. The
animals' large horns are honeycombed
with blood vessels, and are used to
thermo-regulate in hot weather.
Blood moving through the horns is
cooled by moving air, and then flows
back into the body and lowers the
animal's body temperature. For more
information view the Ankole Watusi
International Registry at
http://www.awir.org/.
The Watusi Herd at
the Double S Ranch
We have two "Foundation Pure"
bulls (i.e. they trace their
ancestry to the initial imported
animals) - Sundance Kid and Tabasco
Kid. Three foundation pure females
provide the registered breeding
stock. We have a number of other
fine animals for sale who look
identical to the foundation pure
animals but cannot trace their
ancestry on paper.
