An Easy Way to Memorize Buffalo and Cattle Breeds of Pakistan by M. Talha-Bin-Tahir (Animal Scientist, FAH, UAF)

A student of animal husbandry must know all the breeds present in the region on the fingertips. In this article, the famous breeds of Pakistan are mentioned in the tabular form. An easy way to memorize and understand the interesting breeds. 

Nili-Ravi Buffaloes

BUFFALO BREEDS

Characteristics	KUNDI	NILI-RAVI	AZI KHELI
HABITAT	Present throughout Sindh. From Kashmore in the north to Shah Bandar in south.	Hometract of Nili -Ravi is Lhr, Fsd, SWL, Pakpattan, Okara, Multan, Bahawalpur, and Bawalnagar.	Belong to Swat valley in the NWFP Province.
Colour	Jet black in colour	Mostly black, but often with white markings on forehead, face, muzzle and lower part of legs.	Light brown (albino), some animals partially or fully black.
Horns	Horns are broad at the base but taper upward and inward giving “Fishhook” shape.	Small curly horns.	Detailed studies of various characteristics are in progress.
Average Age at Maturity	30 months in Male and 36 months in Female	Same as Kundi.	N/A
Weight	Adult Male 500-600kg Female 300-400Kg	Adult Male 550-650Kg Female 350-450kg	N/A
Milk Yield	Large, strong udder. 1700-2200 ltr per lactation.	Large, strong udder 1800-2500 litre per lactation.	Same as Kundi.
Butterfat	6.5 percent.	6.5 percent.	N/A
Pneumonic	Kundi means fishhook. Remember Kundhi for Karachi. Karachi is present in Sindh.	Ravi is present in Lahore. So, this breed is present in Punjab and cities present near Lahore.	N/A

CATTLE BREEDS

Red Sindhi Cattle at Buffalo Festivle 2019, BRI, Pattoki

Cattle belong to family Bovidae. European cattle are non-humped and belong to specie “Bos Taurus”, while the cattle found in Pakistan are Humped and belong to the specie “Bos indicus”.

Cattle breeds are classified into different types based on their uses:

·         MILCH BREEDS

·         DRAUGHT BREEDS

·         DULA-PURPOSE BREEDS

MILCH BREEDS

Characteristics	Red Sindhi	Sahiwal (Lola)	Cholistani
Habitat	Spread over Karachi, Thatta, Dadu and irrigated areas of Hyderabad and Lasbella district in Balochistan.	As the name indicate present in Sahiwal and its surroundings Okara, Pakpattan, Multan, and FSD.	Cholistan tract (a desert area) and adjoining areas of Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, and RYK.
Colour	Red in colour. Lasbella strain is comparatively dark in colour.	Females have reddish dun in colour and Males have a darker colour around neck, orbit and hindquarters.	Speckled with red, brown or black all over the body including head.
Horns	Thick and short in Males and thin in Females.	Males have short horns and female are often dehorned.	Small horns.
Hump	Well developed in males.	Massive in males but small in females.	Well developed in Males.
Dewlap	Moderate in both sexes.	A voluminous dewlap and sheath.	Large in both sexes.
Weight	Male 400-500Kg Female 300-350Kg	Same as Red Sindhi	Male 450-500Kg Female 350-400Kg
Tail Switch	Black	Black	Black
Milk Yield per Lactation	1200-2000 litres	1500-2200 litres with 4.5 per cent butterfat.	1200-1800 litres

DRAUGHT BREEDS (Heavy Draught)

Characteristics	Bhagnari (Nari)	Dajal
Habitat	Nari river around Jacobabad (Sindh) extending up to Sibi (Balochistan)	Dajal area in Dera Ghazi khan.
Colour	White or grey in colour. Almost black around neck, shoulder and hump.	Lighter in colour as compare to Bhagnari.
Horns	Stumpy, short horns.	Almost the same as Bhagnari.
Hump	Medium size hump.	//
Dewlap	Small Dewlap	//
Weight	Male 450-600Kg Female 325-425Kg	//
Tail Switch	Black	//
Milk yield	Low milk yield. Mainly used for draught purposes.	//

Medium DRAUGHT BREEDS

Characteristics	Dhanni (Pothwari)	Lohani	Rojhan
Habitat	Districts of Attock, Chakwal, Jehlum and Pindi.	Originated in Loralai district in Balochistan and DIK.	Sulieman range in DGK and DIK and Bannu districts.
Colour	Chitta Burga (White coat with black spots.) Kala Burga (Black coat with white spots.) Nuqra (White mottle with black and brown patches. Ratta Burga (Red coat with white spots)	Body-colour is red splashed with white spots.	Red and white spotted coat.
Horn	Horns are stumpy.	Short thick horns.	Small pointed horns.
Hump	Compact hump.	Well-developed hump.	Large hump.
Dewlap	Small	Moderate	Extended
Weight	Male 350-450Kg Female 270-330Kg	Male 300-350Kg Female 230-280Kg	Male 300-350Kg Female 230-280Kg
Tail Switch	White	Black	White
Milk yield per Lactation	Low milk yield 1000-1200 ltr.	800 – 1000 ltr	Small tucked-up udder. Low milk yield.

DUAL PURPOSE BREEDS

Characteristics	Kankrej	Tharparkar (Thari, White Sindhi)	Achai and Gibrali
Habitat	Districts of Tharaprkar and Badin in Sindh. Its smaller strain (Kachhi) found in Thtta or Sanghar	As the name indicate found in Tharparkar.	NWFP
Colour	Silver grey to dark grey.	Light grey in colour. White stripes run along the backbone.	Detail studies are underway.
Horns	Strong horns, lyre-shaped	Medium-sized horns.	//
Hump	N/A	Well-developed firm hump.	//
Dewlap	Medium	Medium	//
Weight	Male 500-650Kg Female 350-400Kg	Male 450-600Kg Female 350-400Kg	//
Milk yield	Good milk producer.	Same as Kankrej	Not high yielders.

Kankraj Cattle display 2019 at BRI, Pattoki