Ankole-Watusi (cattle)

ruled, Watusi were known as "Insanga" or "the ones which were found" and "Inyambo" or "the cows with long, long horns." Those with the largest and longest horns belonged to the King and were considered sacred, with some individuals having horns that measure twelve feet from tip to tip. The breed is often referred to as the 'Cattle of Kings'.

Their digestive systems have the ability to utilize poor quality and limited quantities of food and water. These survival abilities have allowed them as a breed to not only survive the centuries in Africa but to become established on the continents of Europe, South America, Australia and North America.

The animals' large horns are honeycombed with blood vessels, and are used to thermo-regulate in hot temperatures. Blood moving through the horns is cooled by moving air, and then flows back into the body and lowers the animal's body temperature.

Watusi first came to America in the 1960s when Walter Schultz imported two bulls from Scandinavia and a female from Europe. Thanks to the efforts of private breeders, zoos, and associations, this magnificent animal is no longer endangered.

A Watusi steer named Lurch is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest horn circumference.

External links

* [http://www.awir.org/ Ankole Watusi International Registry]
* [http://www.watusicattle.com/ World Watusi Association]
* [http://www.rockyridgerefuge.com/certificate.html Watusi Lurch]
* [http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=7620054 Video on MySpaceTV]
*citation | last = Rice | first = Andrew | title = A Dying Breed | newspaper=The New York Times | year=2008 |date = January 27, 2008 | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/magazine/27cow-t.html