Afrikaner cattle
Encyclopedia
Afrikaner cattle are a hardy breed
of beef
cattle
which are popular in South Africa
. In Afrikaans
, this breed is called Afrikanerbees.
The Afrikaner is a native South African breed, belonging to the Sanga
type. Huge herds of Sanga type cattle were herded by the Khoikhoi
(Hottentots) when the Dutch
established the Cape Colony
in 1652.
.
s used the Afrikaners for meat and milk and the Boers improved them to use as draft animals. It was Afrikaner oxen which drew the wagons that carried the Voortrekkers
on the Great Trek
.
Afrikaners have been bred into other lines used in the tropics because of their fertility, docility and greater weight gain potential.
Breed
A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...
of beef
Beef cattle
Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production . The meat of cattle is known as beef. When raised in a feedlot cattle are known as feeder cattle. Many such feeder cattle are born in cow-calf operations specifically designed to produce beef calves...
cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
which are popular in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. In Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
, this breed is called Afrikanerbees.
The Afrikaner is a native South African breed, belonging to the Sanga
Sanga cattle
Sanga cattle is the collective name for indigenous cattle of South Africa. They are sometimes identified as a subspecies with the scientific name Bos taurus africanus. These cattle originated in East Africa, probably western Ethiopia, and have spread west and south...
type. Huge herds of Sanga type cattle were herded by the Khoikhoi
Khoikhoi
The Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
(Hottentots) when the Dutch
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
established the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
in 1652.
Appearance
Afrikaners are usually deep red with long spreading horns. They have the small cervico-thoracic hump typical of Sanga cattleSanga cattle
Sanga cattle is the collective name for indigenous cattle of South Africa. They are sometimes identified as a subspecies with the scientific name Bos taurus africanus. These cattle originated in East Africa, probably western Ethiopia, and have spread west and south...
.
Uses
The Khoikhoi and the BoerBoer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
s used the Afrikaners for meat and milk and the Boers improved them to use as draft animals. It was Afrikaner oxen which drew the wagons that carried the Voortrekkers
Voortrekkers
The Voortrekkers were emigrants during the 1830s and 1840s who left the Cape Colony moving into the interior of what is now South Africa...
on the Great Trek
Great Trek
The Great Trek was an eastward and north-eastward migration away from British control in the Cape Colony during the 1830s and 1840s by Boers . The migrants were descended from settlers from western mainland Europe, most notably from the Netherlands, northwest Germany and French Huguenots...
.
Afrikaners have been bred into other lines used in the tropics because of their fertility, docility and greater weight gain potential.