32 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



probably black. It gradually became ex- 

 tinct during the twelfth to the sixteenth 

 centuries. All of our domesticated cat- 

 tle are included under the scientific 

 name Bos taurus. 



Allied species—While all our domes- 

 tic cattle have thus descended from the 

 aurochs of Europe, there are other related 

 species of Bovidse some of which have 

 been domesticated or crossed with domes- 

 tic cattle. We may well mention a few 

 of them in this connection. 



The Zebu {Bos indicus) is distin- 

 guished by a hump on the withers, large 

 drooping ears and a white ring around 

 each fetlock. It is a more or less im- 

 portant domestic animal in Africa, In- 

 dia, China, Burma, Siam and Mada- 



been crossed with the zebu. The crosses 

 are sometimes fertile. In fact a gayal- 

 zebu hybrid has been crossed with the 

 American bison and still produced fer- 

 tile offspring. 



The Banteng (Bos sondaicus) occurs 

 in Java, Borneo and neighboring coun- 

 tries. It is smaller than the gayal with 

 longer legs and a white rump patch. 

 The banteng breeds freely with domes- 

 tic cattle and has been domesticated to 

 some extent. Apparently the native 

 Burmese cattle are descended from it. 

 In forests it grazes preferably on young 

 bamboo sprouts. 



The Yak (Bos grunniens) is noted for 

 its large size, height, massive horns and 

 fringe of long hair hanging from the 



Fig. 7 HANDSOME TEAM OF MODERN TROTTERS 



(By courtesy Rider and Driver) 



gascar. In Algeria the zebu has been 

 crossed with domestic cattle and the 

 crosses are fertile. Cattle with zebu 

 blood in them seem to be immune to 

 Texas fever. The crosses also produce a 

 good quality of beef. 



The Gaur (Bos gaurus) is massive 

 with large ears little or no dewlap, and 

 dark color on the back. It is found in 

 India, Cochin China, Siam, Burma, etc. 

 The gaur has apparently not been domes- 

 ticated. On the other hand the gayal 

 (Bos frontalis) of similar appearance 

 but smaller size and shorter legs is eas- 

 ily domesticated. Even when allowed to 

 roam at will in the forests they return 

 at night to their owners. The gayal has 



flanks. Its native home is the plateau 

 of Tibet where it ranges in summer at 

 elevations of 14,000 to 20,000 feet. Do- 

 mesticated yak are smaller, with slen- 

 derer horns and may be kept at all al- 

 titudes. Domestic yak cross freely with 

 native Indian cattle. 



The European Bison (Bos bonasus) is 

 now extinct except for a few herds in 

 the Caucasus and Lithuania. It appears 

 not to have been truly domesticated and 

 not to have crossed with domestic cattle. 



The American Bison (Bos bison) once 

 extended in countless herds from Penn- 

 sylvania to the Bocky mountains but is 

 now extinct as a wild species. A few 

 thousand are preserved in the Yellow- 



