Meat yield 
A good index of the meat yield of an animal is its killing-out 
percentage, that is, the butcher’s carcass weight expressed as a per¬ 
centage of live weight. The killing-out percentage of the majority 
of African owned cattle seldom exceeds 50.0; long-legged tropical meat 
goats average about 45.0; and "indigenous” sheep about 44.0 (William¬ 
son and Payne, 1959). In comparison, the killing-out percentage of 
wildebeests averages about 50.6, kongonis 52.5, topis 53.6, Thomson’s 
gazelles 56.8, elands 58.6, impalas 59.5, and Grant’s gazelles 63.2 
(Talbot, et al., 1962). 
As detailed by Ledger (1963a and 1963b) the carcasses of wild 
animals contain far less fat than those of domestic livestock. At a 
killing-out percentage of 51.0, game animals have a fat content of 
1.8 percent while cattle contain 14.1 percent. For a killing-out 
percentage of 60.0, game contain 0.3 percent fat while cattle contain 
28.4 percent. The production of lean meat is a more efficient use 
of fodder than is the production of fat (ibid.). Consequently in 
terms of meat production the wild animals with virtually no fat make 
far more efficient use of the available vegetation than do the do¬ 
mestic animals. And the wild animals produce significantly more 
lean meat (protein) per pound of liveweight than do the domestic 
animals. 
Another index of relative worth of carcasses is the carcass 
balance, i.e., the proportion of hindquarter to forequarter when the 
carcass is divided between the tenth and eleventh rib (ibid.). A 
preponderance of hindquarter is advantageous. In this respect most 
wild ungulates are superior to domestic livestock raised on the same 
lands (ibid.). 
Nutrition 
Diet 
There is a wide variety of ungulate species found in East and 
Central Africa, and it is not unusual to find over 20 species of ungu¬ 
lates inhabiting the same area. The available food is in the form of 
herbs, grasses, and woody plants which range from low bushes to tall 
trees. In the open grasslands there are over 100 species of common 
grasses and associated herbaceous plants. Results of the present 
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