Abergele cattle

The Abergele cattle are the smallest breed of cattle in north Ethiopia.[1] They are reared in the Abergele lowlands and at the southwestern lower slopes of Dogu'a Tembien district. Abergele cattle are part of the Zenga breed group. The Abergele breed is known for its adaptation to the hotter and drier lowlands. It is also very tolerant to diseases and parasites and can cope with feed shortages during long dry periods.[2][3]

Abergele
Abergele cattle
Country of originEthiopia
DistributionAbergele lowlands, southwestern slopes of Dogu'a Tembien
UseDraught, meat, milk (in that order)
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    220–250 kilograms (490–550 lb)
  • Female:
    140–170 kilograms (310–370 lb)
Coatred or black
Horn statusmedium
  • Cattle
  • Bos (primigenius) indicus

Physical characteristics

The Abergele cattle generally have red coat colours. Bulls and oxen have thick and short horns and a cervicothoracic hump; cows have medium, thin horns. Oxen weigh 234kg and cows 153 kg on average. The average height at withers of 109 and 97 cm.[2]

Origin of the cattle breed

Ethiopia has been at a crossroads for cattle immigration to Africa[4][5] due to

  • proximity to the geographical entry of Indian and Arabian zebu
  • proximity to Near-Eastern and European taurine
  • introgression with West African taurine due to pastoralism

Furthermore, the diverse agro-ecology led to diverse farming systems which, in turn, made Ethiopia a centre of secondary diversification[4] for livestock :

  • The Sanga cattle originated in Ethiopia. They are a major bovine group in Africa – a cross-breeding of local long-horned taurines and Arabian zebus[5]
  • The Zenga (Zebu-Sanga) breeds (including the Abergele), which resulted from a second introduction and crossing with Indian zebu[5]

Stresses on the cattle breed
  • socio-political: urbanisation, and civil wars
  • panzootic: cattle plague[6]
  • environmental: destruction of ecosystems and droughts[7]
  • modernisation stresses: extensive cross-breeding
See also: Soil in Tanqwa Abergele

References
  1. Merha Zerabruk; Vangen, O (2005). "The Abergelle and Irob cattle breeds of North Ethiopia: description and on-farm characterization". Animal Genetic Resources Information Bulletin. 36: 7–20. doi:10.1017/S101423390000184X.
  2. Cattle breeds, milk production, and transhumance in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geotrekking in Ethiopia's tropical mountains, Chapter 28. Cham: SpringerNature. 2019. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_28. S2CID 199323600.
  3. Merha Zerabruk; Vangen, O; Mitiku Haile (2007). "The status of cattle genetic resources in North Ethiopia: On-farm characterization of six major cattle breeds". Animal Genetic Resources Information. 40: 15–32. doi:10.1017/S1014233900002169.
  4. Merha Zerabruk, and colleagues (2011). "Genetic diversity and admixture of indigenous cattle from North Ethiopia: implications of historical introgressions in the gateway region to Africa". Animal Genetics. 43 (3): 257–266. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2011.02245.x. PMID 22486496.
  5. Hanotte, O. and colleagues (2002). "African pastoralism: genetic imprints of origins and migrations". Science. 296 (5566): 336–339. Bibcode:2002Sci...296..336H. doi:10.1126/science.1069878. PMID 11951043. S2CID 30291909.
  6. Pankhurst, R (1985). The history of famine and epidemics in Ethiopia prior to the twentieth century. Addis Ababa: Relief and Rehabilitation Commission.
  7. Van Cappellen, H (2016). The ox-plow complex on the edge: an ethnographic inquiry into social change and cross-breed dairy farming in Tigray, Ethiopia [MSc Thesis]. KU Leuven, Belgium.
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