Ankole cattle are best known for their majestic horns. The cattle are renowned for their lean meat and excellent milk quality, making them a sought-after dual breed. They have majestic ivory-looking horns, which point to the African skies, and come in various shapes and sizes. The horns are “honeycombed” and connected to airways, which helps these cattle to better regulate their body temperature.
Meat Quality
The meat is lean, tasty, low in cholesterol and high in Omega 3 and 9. The Ankole Cattle Breeders Society of South Africa claims that it will certainly draw the attention of health-conscious consumers and markets.
They are able to adapt to harsh and extreme weather conditions from cold and rainy weather to hot, dry desert climates. They are able to thrive on low-quality forage and are highly disease and tick-resistant, making them a robust and practical breed.
Various coat colours exist, including but not limited to roan to strawberry, dark to light brown and red. In the past, the unique coat colours, body types, behaviour and horn shapes were used as management tools to describe and identify each Ankole.
The breed may be used on its own, but has come under threat over the years due to its extensive use in crossbreeding programmes in Uganda. The cows produce lots of milk, which are sought after in Uganda and apparently tastier and healthier than milk from conventional dairy breeds.
Because they were developed in a climate where daily temperatures may range from 20 to 120 degrees F, Ankole Long-horned indigenous cows tolerate temperature and weather extremes well. The large horns act as radiators; blood circulating through the horn area is cooled and then returned to the main body.
By migrating down the Nile River, the breed found their way to Uganda, known as the Pearl of Africa.
The Banyankole people in Western Uganda, after whom the Ankole was named, believe the breed was created by God and bought to them by the founders of the Ankole Kingdom. To them, the Ankole are “the Cattle of Kings”.
A myth also exists, as relayed, that cattle became extinct, but then reappeared following four days of rain after King Omugabe Nyabugarobwera Ntare shot at the sky with his bow and arrow, known as Enfumura Iguru. It is said that people’s homes were filled with cattle when they awoke on the fifth day. From then on, cattle grazed the beautiful land of Nkore.