It takes only one glance to understand why so famous bull breed Watussi. This animal is one of the few who can boast the biggest horns in the world. Their length from the tip of one horn to the other can reach 2.4 meters.
Like many other bulls Watussi descended from their common ancestor - the primitive round. Such an unusual name - vatusi - bull gave one of the African tribes - Tutsi (Tutsi) (Rwanda, Burundi). Others, such as the tribe Nkole (Nkole, Ankole) (Uganda) called him Ankole. They live in savannas and in open fields.
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Since ancient times, the cows breed Ankole-vatusi considered sacred. They are almost never used as a source of meat as their wealth holders is determined by the amount of live cattle. All attention was focused on the home side getting the maximum amount of milk, and was even developed a special technology.
Cow grazing all day and in the evening it fit in the calf, which was allowed to make only a couple of sips to stimulate milk production. Then milked the cow, calf leaving almost starved. The same was repeated in the morning, in the end died young, and have not reached the age of maturity.
Watussi historical homeland is Africa (Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi), but due to its unpretentious food, after the 1960s, they quickly became common in other countries (in the United States, Ukraine and the Crimea).
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Weight Watussi adults can reach 400 to 750 pounds. Newborn calves, compared with parents - fluff. They weigh only 14-23 pounds and remain so during the first months.
A distinctive feature of this breed bulls are their extra-long and powerful horns. Their overall length is from 1.5 to 2.4 meters.Instances with the big horns are ranked as an au pair and become king of the tribe sacred.
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These horns are amazing not only for its length, but also the ability to thermoregulation. They are pierced by many blood vessels in which blood in hot weather cooling airflow. Then it re-enters the primary circulatory system by lowering the body temperature of the animal.
Watussi very unpretentious in food. Due to the special structure of the digestive system, they are able to eat even a very rough and lean on nutrients food. Their stomach is designed so that it will acquire nutrients from everything that eats its host.
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In Ankole-vatusi highly developed instinct to protect the young. Located on the bed, the adults lay down in a circle, and all the calves are driven to the center, for greater security.
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Watussi progenitors, primitive wild oxen (tours), about four thousand years ago came to Africa from the Nile, where to this day on the walls of the pyramids preserved their images. Around the same time, India and Pakistan in the territory of what is now Ethiopia and Somalia moved humped zebu bulls, which are gradually clashed with Egyptian cows, resulting in the appearance of new, which became the basis of many breeds of African cattle.
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In East Africa - Rwanda and Burundi, the offspring of the Egyptian and Indian bull named "vatusi" and their neighbors, the Ugandan tribes Nkole, gave the name of a new breed of "Ankole".
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Weight of adult bulls reaches 600-730 pounds, cows - 400-550, and the weight of calf during the first months of life does not exceed 15-23 pounds.
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The main distinguishing feature of Ankole-vatusi - their long horns. Tutsi tribe, which is primarily associated these animals, call them "inyambo" - a cow with very long horns. The length of the horns Ankole varies from 1.5 to 3.7 meters. Most preferred are lyre-shaped, or cylindrical shape.
The longer the horn, the more widely they are at the bottom and the more accolades received their owner, and the highest level of the hierarchy - enrollment in the herd the king of the tribe and the assignment of the sacred status. However, in a privileged position also comes with a price on his head holding a horn, weighing about 45 pounds each.
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The main value of the horns of the animal - their thermostatic properties. Horn Ankole-vatusi act as radiators, in which the circulating blood is cooled by air currents and in this state at odds over the entire body, lowering its temperature. This quality is indispensable habitat Ankole, where temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius.
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Once it comes to the biggest horns, there certainly is a record. This bull named Lach (Lurch). In the girth of his horns reach 92.25 cm and weigh 50 pounds each, so he got into the Guinness World Records.
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Lurch lived in the state of Arkansas, where he died from the disease May 22, 2010. His record was registered in the Guinness Book of Records May 6, 2003.
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