Agriculture and Farming Atlas

How The World Is Fed
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Livestock

Zebu

Cattle and Cattle Breeds

A species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in South Asia, also called indicine or humped cattle, distinguished by a fatty shoulder hump, a large dewlap and sometimes drooping ears. Zebu are well adapted to tropical heat and are found across the world's tropics. They were domesticated between 6,000 and 7,000 years ago at Mehrgarh in what is now northwestern Pakistan, descending from the Indian aurochs, which later became extinct during the Indus Valley Civilization era. Zebu are kept as draught and riding animals, as dairy and beef cattle, and for byproducts such as hides and dung used as fuel and manure, and some smaller breeds are even kept as pets.

Facts
Era
Era (category)
Neolithic 1
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Zebu
Origin section, domestication sentence
Quote, Origin section, domestication sentence
Zebu cattle are derived from the Indian aurochs and were domesticated between 6,000 and 7,000 YBP at Mehrgarh in Northern west Pakistan
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.