Madura cattle are a stable, inbred hybrid of Zebu

Zebu

Zebu , sometimes known as humped cattle, indicus cattle, Cebu or Brahmin cattle are a type of domestic cattle originating in South Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent. They are characterised by a fatty hump on their shoulders, drooping ears and a large dewlap...

 and Banteng

Banteng

The banteng , also known as tembadau, is a species of wild cattle found in Southeast Asia.Banteng have been domesticated in several places in Southeast Asia, and there are around 1.5 million domestic banteng, which are called Bali cattle. These animals are used as working animals and for their meat...

 (Bos javanicus). They originated on the island of Madura

Madura

Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately 4,250 km². Madura is administered as part of the East Java province. It is separated from Java by the narrow Strait of Madura.-History:...

 near northeastern Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

, where the original cattle population was Banteng, very similar to Bali cattle. Sinhala cattle, a Zebu breed from Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, were introduced more than 1500 years ago, and the cross was found to be better than either of the original breeds. Some sources say the Zebu component was Ongole

Nelore

Nelore or Nellore beef cattle originated from Ongole cattle originally brought to Brazil from India. They are named for the district of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. 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...

 from India. The colouration is reddish brown with non-specific white patterning on the back and rump. They are a small breed, bulls having a mature weight of 250 to 300 kg, used for racing and are sometimes called dancing cattle. In bull racing two bulls are yoked together, pulling a small sled on which the driver attempts to balance over a hundred metre course. In 2002 the population was estimated by the FAO

Fão

Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....

at 900,000. Efforts are being made to conserve the breed on Sapudi-island