The Nguni cattle breed is indigenous to southern Africa. A hybrid of indigenous and Indian cattle, they were introduced by the Bantu tribes of southern Africa from the north of the continent. They are medium sized, adapted to grazing on the Highveld. Nguni cattle are known for their fertility and resistance to diseases, being the favourite breed amongst the indigenous Bantu people of Southern Africa (South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Angola). They are characterised by their multicoloured skin, which can present many different patterns, but their noses are always black-tipped. They are a principal form of Sanga cattle, which originated as hybrids of Zebu and humpless cattle in East Africa. Protein analyses have shown that they are a combination of Zebu (Bos indicus) and Bos taurus, the European and indigenous African species. They are characterized by low cervico-thoracic humps, in front of the front legs, instead of the high thoracic humps of pure Zebu. Besides the various colour patterns, these animals present a variety of horn shapes. All different combinations were catalogued in the beginning of the century by a South African herd-master. This work inspired the Nguni Cattle Register, a compilation of terms to describe in full a Nguni cow or bull. The cattle are medium sized, with bulls weighing between 500 kg and 600 kg, while cows weigh between 300 kg and 400 kg.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 17:30:39 +0000
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