CATTLE & BUFFALOES

Cattle (colloquially cows) are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius. Cattle are raised as livestock for meat (beef and veal), as dairy animals for milk and other dairy products, and as draft animals (pulling carts, plows and the like). Other products include leather and dung for manure or fuel.

In some countries, such as India, cattle are sacred. It is estimated that there are 1.3 billion cattle in the world today. In 2009, cattle became the first livestock animal to have its genome mapped.Cattle were originally identified as three separate species. These were Bos taurus, the European or "taurine" cattle (including similar types from Africa and Asia); Bos indicus, the zebu; and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs. The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and taurine cattle. Recently these three have increasingly been grouped as one species, with Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus and Bos primigenius primigenius as the subspecies.

Cattle did not originate as the term for bovine animals. It was borrowed from Old French catel, itself from Latin caput, head, and originally meant movable personal property, especially livestock of any kind, as opposed to real property (the land, to also include wild or small free-roaming animals such as chickens, which would be sold as part of the land). The word is closely related to "chattel" (a unit of personal property) and "capital" in the economic sense.

Of all the domestic animals, the Asian water buffalo holds the greatest promise and potential for production. The buffalo had been severely neglected by the authorities until 1974, when the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) first signposted the water buffalo as the most neglected animal. In the intervening years, FAO has more than made up for it by providing leadership and inspiration to national and international organizations in developing water buffalo production.

The production of buffalo milk in the Asian-Pacific region exceeds 45 million tonnes annually of which over 30 million tonnes are produced in India alone. With selective breeding, improved management and the establishment of more dairy herds, milk yields are increasing worldwide. The individual 3,000 litre-per-lactation female, considered a record 30 years ago, is now common. There are many which yield 4,000 litres in a lactation of 300 days. And, some have even attained a record of 5,000 litres. The potential for increased milk production, therefore, exists.

First cloned buffalo The world's first cloned buffalo was developed by Indian scientists from National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal. The buffalo calf was named Samrupa. The calf did not survive more than a week, and died due to some genetic disorders. So, the scientists created another cloned buffalo a few months later, and named it as Garima.