Yakutian cattle
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| Conservation status | Endangered |
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| Other names | Yakut cattle, East Siberian cattle |
| Country of origin | Russia |
| Distribution | Sakha Republic |
| Use | Triple-purpose beef / dairy / (draft); extreme tolerance towards freezing temperatures, exceptional foraging ability |
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| Coat | Black, red, or spotted; most animals have a white dorsal stripe |
| Horn status | Horned; variable shape and direction |
| Notes | |
| Protected by the world’s first conservation law for a domestic breed | |
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Yakutian cattle, Саха ынаҕа (Sakha ınaga) in the Sakha language, are a cattle landrace bred north of the Arctic Circle in the Republic of Sakha. They are noted for their extreme hardiness and tolerance towards freezing temperatures.
Yakutian cattle are of a relatively small size. These cows stand between 110 and 112 cm high at the withers and reach a live weight of 350 to 400 kg, bulls reach a height of 115 to 127 cm and weigh 500 to 600 kg. They have short, strong legs and a deep but relatively narrow chest. The dewlap is well-developed. Their color varies. It can be black, red, or spotted. Most animals have a white dorsal stripe along the back, and in dark animals the hair between the horns is often reddish brown.
Their large abdomen and long digestive tract allow them to make efficient use both of grass and browse. They grow subcutaneous fat very quickly during the short pasture season and survive under poor feed conditions in winter.
A number of further traits, such as a thick winter coat, a small, fur-covered udder or scrotum, efficient thermoregulation, and low metabolic rates at low temperatures, lead to the Yakutian cattle’s extreme tolerance towards freezing temperatures. A compelling example of this is the case of several cows which survived on their own in the taiga forest for three months in late 2011 in deep snows and temperatures reaching as low as –40 °C (–40 °F).
Yakutian cattle exhibit resistance to tuberculosis, leucosis, and brucellosis.
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