Oldest Breed Kankrej Gomata
Oldest Breed Kankrej Gomata
Kankrej cattle are also known as “Wadad” or “Waged,” “Vagadia,” “Talabda,” “Nagar,” and “Bonnai.” They take their name from the geographical area, Kankrej Taluka, of Banaskantha district in Gujarat. They are found in the area southeast of Rann of Kutch, comprising Mehsana, Kutchchh, Ahmedabad, Kheda, Anand, Sabarakantha, and Banaskantha districts of Gujarat and Barmer and Jodhpur districts of Rajasthan.
Kankrej, famously known as Guzerat in Brazil, is being maintained in large numbers as a pure breed in that country. The Guzerat was the most important breed in the formation of American Brahman. Its unique characteristics, such as resistance to tick fever, heat stress, and very little incidence of contagious abortion and tuberculosis, made Kankrej a very popular one among these countries.
The animal's coat colour varies from silver grey to iron grey and steel black. In males, forequarters, hindquarters, and hump are slightly darker than the rest of the body. Bulls tend to get darker than cows and bullocks. The hump in the males is well-developed and not as firm as in other breeds. The forehead is broad and slightly dished in the centre. The face is short, and the nose is slightly upturned. A unique characteristic of this breed is its large, pendulous ears. The horns are lyre-shaped.