Nelore
 Cow with bull calf | |
 Bull | |
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Nellore |
| Country of origin | Brazil |
| Distribution |
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The Nelore is a Brazilian breed of beef cattle.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] It is of zebuine (Bos indicus) type, and derives from the Ongole breed of the modern Andhra Pradesh state of southern India. The name derives from that of the district of Nellore in the former Madras Presidency, of which Ongole taluk was formerly a part.
The Nelore is among the most numerous breeds of cattle world-wide. A naturally polled strain, the Nelore Mocho, is treated as a separate breed by Guatemala and Paraguay, but not by Brazil.[3]
History
[edit]Zebuine cattle were first brought to Brazil in 1813, when two animals from the Malabar Coast of India were landed at the port of Salvador, in Bahia.[11] According to some accounts, a breeding pair of Ongole type was landed from an English ship at the same port in 1868;[6] this conflicts with the history given by the Associação Brasileira dos Criadores de Zebu, the national association of zebu breeders, for whom the landing in Bahia in 1868 was of a Sindhi bull, while the English ship – with mutinous crew – went in 1873 to Recife, where it landed a bull, probably from Mysore.[11]
In 1878 the Swiss landowner Manoel Ubelhart Lemgruber, owner of the Fazenda Santo Antônio in Sapucaia, in Rio de Janeiro state, travelled to Germany. At the Tierpark Hagenbeck in Stellingen, near Hamburg, he saw cattle of Ongole/Nelore type and arranged for some to be shipped to him in Brazil; a bull and two cows reached him in October 1878.[12] He arranged for further shipments in 1880 and in 1883, and his herd began to grow; he found the cattle to be well adapted to the climatic conditions of his estate.[12]
The most recent importations from India were of one hundred animals in the 1960s. The Nelore herd book was founded in 1975.[citation needed]
In the first decades of twentieth century, the most numerous breed of zebu in Brazil was the Indubrasil, but from the 1960s onwards, Nelore became the primary breed because of its hardiness and heat-resistance, and because it thrives on poor-quality forage and breeds easily, with the calves rarely requiring human intervention to survive.[citation needed] More than 80% of beef cattle in Brazil (approximately 167,000,000 animals) are either purebred or hybrid Nelore, making them the majority breed in Brazil.[citation needed] The Nelore is reported by more than twenty countries, principally in Central and South America, but also in Africa and the Far East.[3]
Characteristics
[edit]The Nelore has a distinct large hump over the top of the shoulder and neck. They have long legs which help them to walk in water and when grazing.[citation needed] The Nelore can adapt to all climates except very cold temperatures. They are very resistant to high temperatures and have natural resistance to various parasites and diseases. Nelore have the shortest ears of most Bos indicus types.[citation needed] A naturally polled strain, the Nelore Mocho, is treated as a separate breed by Guatemala and Paraguay, but not by Brazil.[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]
- ↑ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ↑ Breed Data Sheet: Nelore / Brazil (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed April 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 Transboundary Breed Summary: Nelore. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed July 2026.
- ↑ Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ↑ A Origem (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Associação dos Criadores de Nelore do Brasil. Archived 27 February 2026.
- 1 2 Histórico (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Associação dos Criadores de Nelore do Brasil. Archived 7 March 2026.
- ↑ Caracterização Racial (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Associação dos Criadores de Nelore do Brasil. Archived 20 April 2026.
- ↑ M. Narendra Nath (1993). The Ongole cattle: A versatile resource for the tropics. World Animal Review/Revue mondiale de zootechnie/Revista mundial de zootecnia. 76 (3). ISSN 1014-6954.
- ↑ Yuri Vasconcelos (2004). Well-handled Herd: Researchers produce cattle that mature earlier for slaughter and for reproduction. Revista Pesquisa FAPESP 102. São Paulo: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo.
- ↑ Marleen Felius (1995). Cattle Breeds: An Encyclopedia. Doetinchem, Netherlands: Misset. ISBN 9789054390176.
- 1 2 Uma Breve Apresentação sobre as Importações (1ª Fase) (in Portuguese). Centro de Referência da Pecuária Brasileira - Zebu. Uberaba: Associação Brasileira dos Criadores de Zebu. Archived 31 July 2026.
- 1 2 Manoel Ubelhart Lemgruber, um importante importador fluminense (in Portuguese). Centro de Referência da Pecuária Brasileira - Zebu. Uberaba: Associação Brasileira dos Criadores de Zebu. Archived 31 July 2026.