Breeds of Cow:

There are believed to be over 900 cow breeds throughout the world, most of which have been bred to adapt to daily life, while others are specially bred by people for more specific functions. Breeds of cows are typically placed into two main categories, which are considered to be either two closely linked species, or two subspecies of a particular taxonomic category. For example, Bos indicus (or Bos taurus indicus) cattle, also known as zebu, are bred specially to fit in hot environmental conditions. On the other hand, another cows breed Bos taurus (or Bos taurus taurus) are bred to adapt to colder climates such as the ones typically seen in Europe, North East Asia, and colder parts of Africa. These cattle are commonly cited to as taurine cattle.

In warmer regions of the populated world, special hybrids such as taurus hybrids or indicus hybrids that combine the features of both categories are widely bred. In other parts of the world, people are known to have bred wild and domesticated cattle together to bring about different breeds of cows and species. Still other cow breeds are interconnected and related so closely to taurine and indicus cattle that inter-specific crossbreeds have been multiplied. some such cow breeds examples include the Dwarf Lulu cows found in the Nepal hills that have been bred with large long-haired wild oxen of Tibet, the Beefalo found in North America that have the genetics of American bison, and the Selembu breed seen in India and Bhutan that have Asian wild ox genetics.

In Indonesia, one particular cow breed known as the Madura breed is likely to have the wild ox of the Malay Archipelago in its parentage. Another specific cow breed that has been superficially bred for agricultural work is the Dzo of Nepal which is a sterile cattle-yak crossbred cow. Since the Dzo cow breeds are incapable of reproducing, they have to be repeatedly multiplied from the parent stock. According to history, current domesticated cows evolved from a single prehistoric ascendant, the aurochs. Today, cow breeds belonging to Taurine, Zebu, and hybrids are used for multiple purposes, including, dairy, beef and agricultural purposes.

Although one may want to single the best cow breed in the world, it is not easy nor possible to discern which cow breed has the most positive qualities or is the best. Cattle experts opine that the best cow breed may never be known due to each breed’s identity and the gains it provides for the breeder as well as for the customer markets.