Fast Facts
Description: Ankole are large cattle with long, thick horns, which can grow up to 1.8 m (6 ft.) long. They have a rusty red coast and may be solid in color or be speckled.
Size Height at shoulders: 165 to 198 cm (5.5 to 6.6 ft)
Weight: Newborn calves weigh 4.7 to 6.75 kg (10.5 to 15 lbs.).
Male: 450 to 720 kg (1,000 to 1,600 lbs.)
Female: 405 to 540 kg (900 to 1,200 lbs.)
Diet: Ankole are grazers and feed on grass.
Incubation: Gestation lasts approximately 9 months; one offspring per birth.
Sexual Maturity: About 18 months
Life Span: More than 20 years
Range: Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and in Eastern Africa
Habitat: Open forests, grasslands, and meadows
Population: Global
Interesting Facts and Figures
- The milk got from the cattle is used for making ghee and yogurt due to its high content of fat.
- The blood collected from the cattle after slaughtering is also used in making a local cuisine that is a delicacy to the locals
- The cattle are used for strengthening social relationships. This is done when people go out to graze their cattle, they are bound to improve on their relationship by talking about different issues and their cattle.
- The cattle are a source of income to the farmers.
- The wastes from cattle especially the dung is used in finishing of the houses and manure in gardens especially banana plantations.
- The urine of the cattle is also used for medicinal purposes by the locals.
- The cattle also play a big role during the introduction ceremonies as they are used for payment of dowry. The Ankole people believe that dowry is considered enough only if the groom pays the number of cattle that has been stipulated by the family of the bride.
- The long horns are used for decoration purposes in different places of art.
- The cattle also represent a status for the people who rear them that are one who own a lot of cattle have a high social standard.
- The skin and hide from the people are used for making decoration and clothes by the local people.
- The cattle also provide food in form of meat, milk and the various by products got from them.
- In Ankole, cows are considered the best gift that one can give to someone else.
