Ankole-Watusi

The Ankole-Watusi, also known as Ankole Longhorn, is a landrace breed of cattle originally native to Africa. Its large distinctive horns that can reach up to 8 ft (2.4 m) from tip to tip are used for defense and cooling by honeycombs of blood vessels. Ankole-Watusis weigh from 900 to 1,600 pounds (410 to 730 kg).

Living in the savannas and open grasslands, their diet consists of grass and leaves. The variety is sometimes known as Ankole or Watusi, and is a type of Sanga cattle.

Ankoles are able to use poor-quality forage and limited quantities of feed and water. These survival abilities have allowed them as a breed to not only survive the centuries in Africa, but also to become established in Europe, South America, Australia, and North America.

The Ankole-Watusi is medium in size, with cows weighing 950–1,200 lb (430–540 kg) and bulls weighing 1,200–1,600 lb (540–730 kg). Newborn calves weigh just 30–50 lb (14–23 kg) and remain small for several months. This low birth-weight makes Ankole-Watusi bulls useful for breeding to first-calf heifers of other breeds.

During the day, the calves sleep together, with an "auntie" cow nearby for protection. At night, the herd members sleep together, with the calves in the center of the group for protection. The horns of the adults serve as formidable weapons against any intruders.

Ancient rock paintings and depictions of Ankole-Watusi cattle have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The variety called the Sanga has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and other parts of eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of many of the indigenous African populations. 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. They supplied milk to the owners, but were only rarely used for meat production, since an owner's wealth was counted in live animals.

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