Phenotypic characterization of Harar and Ogaden cattle breeds of Ethiopia: The first step for conservation

Abstract

Fourteen morphological and eight morphometric traits on a total of 456 adult cattle (354 cows and 102 oxen) from five purposively selected districts were recorded to characterize the cattle populations in eastern Ethiopia. Frequency, general linear model, and multivariate analysis procedures of Statistical Analysis Software (SAS 9.0) were used to analyze the data. The morphological similarities among the cattle populations from Tulo, Jarso, and Fedis districts confirm the presence of a unique cattle breed which was previously referred to as Harar cattle. The same was observed for the cattle populations from Jigjiga and Kebri Beyah districts which were previously referred to as Ogaden cattle. The Harar cattle are characterized by their forward-oriented, widely spaced, and medium-length horns while the Ogaden cattle possess upright-oriented, narrowly spaced short horns. The majority of the Ogaden cattle had gray body color while the Harar cattle possess multiple body colors where red and its combination with white and black colors are observed frequently. Most of the morphometric measurement values were higher for the oxen, while the cows had longer horns. Moreover, Ogaden cattle had higher morphometric measurement values than the Harar cattle. According to the multivariate analysis results the cattle populations in the study area were separated into two breeds; the Harar and Ogaden. However, these results only showed the phenotypic differences which might not necessarily be due to genetic differences. Therefore, further genetic characterization is recommended to understand their level of relationships which in turn helps to design conservation and breeding programs.

Phenotypic characterization of Guraghe and Jimma cattle breeds in Ethiopia: Implications for breed differentiation and in-situ conservation

“…However, these traits failed to differentiate Guraghe and Jimma cattle breeds, as the majority of both cattle breeds possess a uniformly patterned red body color. In addition to similarities in other morphometric and morphological traits, similarities in body color and body color patterns among breeds may suggest genetic similarity [ 20 , 21 ] for Ogaden cattle. Diverse body colors might be observed within a breed [ 21 ] of Harar cattle; however, the current body color and body color pattern similarities between the Guraghe and Jimma cattle breeds show phenotypic similarities, which in turn hints at the presence of genetic similarities among them.…”

“…Such within-breed variations are among the most important factors in selection-based genetic improvement programs as well as conservation schemes. The authors of [ 22 ] in Mursi cattle, [ 23 ] in Raya cattle, and [ 21 ] in Harar cattle also reported the existence of morphometric variations among different sampling locations within the same breed.…”

“…The Guraghe and Jimma cattle breeds were found to be smaller in size than most of the Ethiopian indigenous cattle breeds. Their morphometric measurements were lower than those of Afar cattle [ 25 ], Begait cattle [ 26 ], Begaria cattle [ 6 ], Fogera cattle [ 27 ], Gofa cattle [ 5 ], Gojjam Highland cattle [ 28 ], Harar cattle [ 21 ], Kereyu cattle [ 29 ], Mursi cattle [ 22 ], Nuer cattle [ 30 ], Ogaden cattle [ 21 ] and Raya cattle [ 23 ]. On the other hand, the morphometric measurements of the Abergelle and Irob cattle breeds [ 31 ] were reportedly lower than those of the Guraghe and Jimma cattle breeds.…”

“…On the other hand, the lower the error rate is, the lower the similarities shared among the breeds, which indicates the uniqueness of each breed. An error rate of 1% was reported in classifying the phenotypically unrelated Harar and Ogaden cattle breeds [ 21 ].…”

Critiquing the meaningfulness of Sukuma Cattle names: A non-Philosophical semantic stance

“…The aim is to preserve cow cultural names' meaning and the practical functions of these names in the Sukuma community. Studies in African cows have been done by scholars such as Adido & Gicheha (2018), Mustefa, et al (2023), Ayele (2019), Okeyo, Olivier, Young-Jun and Seoae (2015), to mention just but a few, but none have discussed indigenous cow names. Specifically, in Kisukuma speech communities of the United Republic of Tanzania, few studies on Sukuma names have been done, as in Shigini (2022) and Thomas (2015).…”