Begayt cattle

Begayt
Country of origin	Ethiopia
Distribution	Western Tigray
Use	Draught, milk, meat (in that order)
Traits
Coat	black and white stained
Horn status	medium
	Cattle; Bos (primigenius) indicus;

Begayt is an Ethiopian breed of cattle.^[1]^[2] Currently there are ongoing cross-breeding programmes with Arado cattle, in an attempt to increase the milk production of the latter.

Origin of the cattle breed

Ethiopia has been at a crossroads for cattle immigration to Africa^[1]^[3] due to

proximity to the geographical entry of Indian and Arabian zebu
proximity to Near-Eastern and European taurine
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^[1] 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^[3]
The Begayt are one of the Zenga (Zebu-Sanga) breeds, which resulted from a second introduction and crossing with Indian zebu^[3]

Threats on the cattle breed

socio-political stresses: civil wars and recent urbanisation
panzootic stresses: cattle plague^[4]
environmental stresses drought and destruction of ecosystems^[5]
extensive cross-breeding with Arado

Closely related types

Arado cattle

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Merha 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. PMID 22486496.
^ Cattle 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. S2CID 199323600.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hanotte, O. and colleagues (2002). "African pastoralism: genetic imprints of origins and migrations". Science. 296 (5566): 336–339. Bibcode:2002Sci...296..336H. doi:10.1126/science.1069878. PMID 11951043. S2CID 30291909.
^ 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.

[merha2011-1] Merha 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. PMID 22486496.

[ch28-2] Cattle 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. S2CID 199323600.

[hanotte-3] Hanotte, O. and colleagues (2002). "African pastoralism: genetic imprints of origins and migrations". Science. 296 (5566): 336–339. Bibcode:2002Sci...296..336H. doi:10.1126/science.1069878. PMID 11951043. S2CID 30291909.

[4] Pankhurst, R (1985). The history of famine and epidemics in Ethiopia prior to the twentieth century. Addis Ababa: Relief and Rehabilitation Commission.

[5] 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.

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