Recent Study on Preservation, Conservation & Protection of Punganur Cow:The Dwarf Cow from Andhra Pradesh
Punganur dwarf cattle from the Chitoor district of Andhra Pradesh in southern India are among the world’s smallest humped cattle breeds.
Specialty
These cows are a blend of white and light grey. Their broad forehead and short horns add to their unique and endearing look. The average height of a Punganur is 70-90cm and it weighs 115-200kg.
Punganur cows are highly drought resistant – they can survive on dry fodder.
The body language of this cow is similar to a deer – it has a beautiful walking style. This breed, which is on the verge of extinction, has only around 300 odd cows remaining on our planet.
This breed yields an average of 3-5liters of milk per day and requires a daily feed intake of 5kg. The Punganur’s milk is high in fat content.
On an average, the milk from a normal cow has fat content ranging from 3% -3.5% fat; the Punganur milk contains 8% fat and is highly rich in medicinal properties.
Punganoor cow Main characteristics
– Back slopes downwards from front to hind quarters
– Tail touches the ground
– Slight mobile horns and almost flat along the back
– Considered among the world’s smallest breed of cows, the Punganur breed’s milk has a high fat content and rich medicinal properties.
– While cow milk normally has a fat content of 3 to 3.5 per cent, the Punganur breed’s milk contains 8 per cent, similar to buffalo milk.
– These cows give about 2 litres of milk every day. Though the quantity of milk is less, it is rich in protein and nutrients.
– Divine offering
Perhaps, this is why the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has about 200 Punganur cows in its cattle-yard. Ghee prepared from the milk of these cows is being used in ‘archana’ (offering) for Lord Venkateswara. Available only in small numbers, the Punganur cow has become a craze, a status symbol, among the wealthy in the Andhra Pradesh capital of late.
Punganur Cow-The Wonder breed of Andhra Pradesh
Punganur Cattle is one of the world?s smallest Bos indicus cattle originated in Punganur town in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. This breed is known for its short stature, high milk production efficiency and efficient reproductive characters. The Jamindars of Punganur were erstwhile Diwans in the Princely state of Mysore. They took fancy on this small breed of cattle and improved this breed and got the name as Punganur breed of cattle. These animals were found in the taluks of Palamaner, Madanapalli, Vayalpad, Piler and Chandragiri.
Punganur Cattle is the world’s smallest Bos indicus cattle originated in Punganur town in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. This breed is known for its short stature, high milk production efficiency and efficient reproductive characters. In Ancient Ayurvedic scriptures such as Charaka samhita, Shushruta samhita and Brahad-Wagbhatt mention various medicinal properties of cow urine. It is used as an insecticide and in disorders like intestinal gas, acidity and cough. Although Indian Ayurvedic literature cites many medicinal properties of cow urine, there is no scientific evidence to support this.
However the breed is on the verge of extinction due to extensive indiscriminate crossbreeding over a period of time in breeding tract. Attempts are made to rescue the breed at Livestock Research Station, Palamaner, under Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University. Under the ICAR adhoc scheme on the Preservation and improvement of Punganur breed of cattle?, a demographic survey was conducted in the year 1993 in the breeding tract in Chittoor district covering about 150 villages. The major effort was to multiply the stock and study the morphological characters, production and reproduction parameters. The most important physical character is the height of the animal which is approximately one metre. The animals have a long tail almost touching the ground, which is the most unique feature of this particular breed. Reddy et al (2004) reported a lactation yield of 633.4+21.7 litres over a lactation period of 272.0+8.9 days with an average milk yield of 2.29+0.06 lts. The peak yield was3.92+ 0.11 litres reached in 33.5+1.6 days and an average dry period of 188.1+11.54 days. These animals can be maintained economically and can survive on scarce grazing conditions with minimal care and shelter. Later a NATP project on ?Conservation on Punganur Germplasm by Semen Preservation? was undertaken during the years 1999 to 2004 with the objective to produce 500 doses of frozen semen from 25 unrelated bulls procured from the field and 5000 doses of semen produced during the project was handed over to the NBAGR, Karnal for future use. At present embryos collected from Punganur cows are being cryopreserved for future purpose.
Once On The Brink Of Extinction, Punganur Dwarf, An Indigenous Cow Is Making A Comeback:
The milk of the Punganur cow is known for its high fat content which is 8 per cent, compared to the 3 to 3.5 per cent of other breeds.Like many indigenous breeds, the Punganur cattle also faced an existential threat due to the push for an increase in milk production and farmers’ income.In 2020, the Andhra Government had launched Mission Punganur for the conservation of the breed.
Standing at just around 70-90 cm tall and weighing less than 200kgs, Punganur dwarf cattle, which originated from the Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, is one of the world’s smallest humped cattle breeds.
The breed which is named after the town of its origin, Punganur, the cow yields 1 to 3 liters of milk.
How Punganur dwarf cattle became endangered
The milk of the Punganur cow is known for its high fat content which is 8 per cent, compared to the 3 to 3.5 per cent of other breeds.
Like many indigenous breeds, the Punganur cattle also faced an existential threat due to the push for an increase in milk production and farmers’ income.
Compared to hybrid cows, which are capable of producing milk several times more than indigenous ones, the Punganur cattle suddenly became a liability for farmers who started abandoning them.It got so bad that at one point the known number of Punganur cattle had dropped below 50.But thanks to some conservation efforts they are slowly making a comeback.
Mission Punganur
Several cow sheds in the state and the Andhra Government embarked on a mission to revive their population.In 2020, the Andhra Government had launched Mission Punganur for the conservation of the breed.
Using IFV to increase Punganur population
The AP Government also sanctioned Rs 69.36 crores exclusively for the reproduction of Punganur cattle through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) method.
Scientists were forced to take the surrogacy route as the was a scarcity of healthy and graded Punganur cows that could produce offspring.The mission has set the aim to increase reproductive efficiency by three to four times. The research is being carried out by the Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVVU).
The project envisages the production of at least 8.5 off-springs from each cow in five years compared to 2.5 off-springs during the same period from each cow under normal circumstances. A total of 1,690 offspring are expected to be produced from 200 superior donors.
In July Andhra Pradesh Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Sidiri Appala Raju said that the main purpose of the mission is to restore the Punganur cow breed by using embryo transfer technology through IVF.
“Efforts are under way to prevent the cows from becoming extinct and to popularise the breed on a large scale,” he had said.
First IVF calf born
In January this year, the Animal Husbandry Department said that the first IVF calf of the Punganur breed was born in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.
The Man Who Rears , Preserve & Conserve Vashishta’s Cows Punganoor
Krishnam Raju is a practitioner of alternate medicine and is a ‘Nadipathy’ expert. He is rediscovering several ancient medical techniques. Krishnam Raju has visited numerous countries over the years. He is the founder of a unique gowshala at East Godavari District (Lingampatti Village – Yeleswaram Mandalam). The innovator is specialising in miniature Punganoor Cows. This ancient breed has been resuscitated to life by Dr. P. Krishnam Raju.
The cowman shared some info with the Verandah Club team recently, “The Punganoor is an ancient breed. This name has come up in the past few hundred years. It was earlier a family cow for the poor brahmins and others who wanted to rear a cow. You see, people required some quantity of milk, gowmutra, and dung every day. The streets were small, and the houses were small too. Therefore, they decided to breed the miniature cow. It would give a little milk and was easy to feed. Managing was also a lot more comfortable. Thus, the Punganoor Cow was a brahmana breed during the puranic times.”
India that is Bharat is home to profuse cow breeds. In fact, milk was just a byproduct. People used the animals for ploughing, as beasts of burden, for transport etc. The gowmutra and dung was used for farming. The natural farming pioneer Subhash Palekar has done extensive field research on this area. Krishnam Raju spoke about some of the Indic breeds, “Boni is a small cow from Bengal, in Kerala you have Vechur, Malnad Gidda is from Karnataka, and Naumuthe is from Nepal. Now coming to Punganoor, let us dig into the past. The Raja of Punganoor visited Pithapuram those days. He saw the local cows and liked them. So, he took hundreds of them with him and nourished them. There are numerous local breeds and details of many have been updated. However, we have not got fully updated. I did my bit by visiting the Guntur Government Farm and got the semen of ancient bulls. I used it on my cow and the miniature was born.”
Krishnam Raju has thus rediscovered the old brahmana breed and saved it. Eminent sages Vashishta and Vishwaamitra had developed these miniatures those days. The milk, butter, ghee, and dung from these cows have high medical value claims Krishnam Raju. He spoke about the high positive vibration from the cows. “We can see the nine planets in the cows too. The small and short one is the Budha. It is full of energy and is helpful. Budha grants good knowledge. The Brahmin had it with him. Black cow represents Saturn, white is for the Moon, the good looking yellowish one is Sukra. Of course, the Punganoor miniature is for Budha, and it is good for business. The not so black or the black mixed one is for Rahu, while Guru is represented by the big cow. Cows with three colours on them are Ketu, the gold coloured one is Surya and the red one is Angaraka. The people who seek the blessings of the navagrahas can do the pooja to these cows and have the milk. Even one spoon of the milk from the miniature is like nectar,” stated Dr. P. Krishnam Raju.
The cowman has been upbringing cows like his family. He had conducted a cow wedding too. His bull was married to the cow belonging to his sister. Krishnam Raju had even got an upanayanam done for the bull. The bull is called Kannaiya and the cow is known by the name Gopika. A thirumangalya dharanam was performed and the kanyadhanam was done by his sister. The cow continues to wear the thirumangalyam even today. Krishnam Raju bubbled with joy while stating that the cow couple goes to graze and come back to the same place every day. Kannaiya and Gopika were blessed with Simha, Rukmini and Radha Rukmini. The three kids are short like their parents. While the gowshala was spread over 5 acres, it was interesting to note that Kannaiya and Gopika sleep in the same place. The cow marriage had cost about ₹2,50,000 some years ago. Krishnam Raju went on and on about his cows. It was interesting to talk with him.
The Punganoor miniatures bred by Dr. P. Krishnam Raju are in great demand. They may cost ₹3,00,000 per cow. The cowman has his family tree in place. He claims to be a direct descendent of the Eastern Chalukya dynasty. His Gurus had written down the family tree and this has helped him to understand his family background.
Well, it was interesting to catch up with Dr. P. Krishnam Raju and learn more about the cows of our country and the historical background. People had been pastoral in India. The huge country has always been home to all kinds of people. Cowman Dr. P. Krishnam Raju is keen to share details pertaining to the benefits of gowraksha. Interesting!!!
SCIENTIFIC STUDY ON PUNGANOOR COW CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM HERE:
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COMPILED,EDITED & SHARED BY-DR P.YOGI,PUNE
