The Abergele cattle are the smallest breed of cattle in north Ethiopia.[1] They are reared in the Abergele lowlands and at the southwestern lower slopes of Dogu'a Tembien district. Abergele cattle are part of the Zenga breed group. The Abergele breed is known for its adaptation to the hotter and drier lowlands. It is also very tolerant to diseases and parasites and can cope with feed shortages during long dry periods.[2][3]
Physical characteristics
The Abergele cattle generally have red coat colours. Bulls and oxen have thick and short horns and a cervicothoracichump; cows have medium, thin horns. Oxen weigh 234kg and cows 153 kg on average. The average height at withers of 109 and 97 cm.[2]
introgression with West African taurine due to pastoralism
Furthermore, the diverse agro-ecology led to diverse farming systems which, in turn, made Ethiopia a centre of secondary diversification[4] for livestock :
The Sanga cattle originated in Ethiopia. They are a major bovine group in Africa – a cross-breeding of local long-horned taurines and Arabian zebus[5]
The Zenga (Zebu-Sanga) breeds (including the Abergele), which resulted from a second introduction and crossing with Indian zebu[5]
^ abCattle breeds, milk production, and transhumance in Dogu'a Tembien. In: Geotrekking in Ethiopia's tropical mountains, Chapter 28. Cham: SpringerNature. 2019. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_28. S2CID199323600.
^Merha Zerabruk; Vangen, O; Mitiku Haile (2007). "The status of cattle genetic resources in North Ethiopia: On-farm characterization of six major cattle breeds". Animal Genetic Resources Information. 40: 15–32. doi:10.1017/S1014233900002169.
^ abMerha Zerabruk, and colleagues (2011). "Genetic diversity and admixture of indigenous cattle from North Ethiopia: implications of historical introgressions in the gateway region to Africa". Animal Genetics. 43 (3): 257–266. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2011.02245.x. PMID22486496.
^Pankhurst, R (1985). The history of famine and epidemics in Ethiopia prior to the twentieth century. Addis Ababa: Relief and Rehabilitation Commission.
^Van Cappellen, H (2016). The ox-plow complex on the edge: an ethnographic inquiry into social change and cross-breed dairy farming in Tigray, Ethiopia [MSc Thesis]. KU Leuven, Belgium.