Sunday, October 31, 2010

Lurch--Guinness World Book of Records holder for the largest horn circumference.

By Cindy Darling

It is no great revelation to any Watusi enthusiast whether a cattle owner or not that the most important and distinguishing feature of this species is the horn. Most of us are aware that the Watusi breed is composed of animals with huge, heavy and long horns. The heaviest and longest of all cattle breeds in the world. But not everyone is really aware just how difficult it is to come up with those fantastic horns.

Just because an animal is a Watusi or part Watusi does not mean that it will of necessity grow huge, long horns. It is true that the genetics of the breed will generally cause most individuals to develop better horn than other breeds, but the real value of the animal increases when they are compared with other Watusi, not with other breeds. To be exceptional when compared to others in your own breed requires a genetic quality that must be nurtured and carefully planned. With this in mind the upbreeding program was launched.

Individual Watusi breeders, in search of the ever-elusive better horn have tried various feeds, combinations of bloodlines and combinations of breeds. The results so far have been quite impressive. Overall we have developed a fine group of animals with good horn base and length. Some individual members of this crossbreeding program are now sporting what should be described as exceptional horn. There are percentage animals that will rival some of the best foundation pure and outshine many of the average foundation pure. Needless to say, heredity does play an important part here. With few exceptions the better the horned ancestors, the better the horned offspring.

It appears in most of our herds and experience that the bulls themselves sport the widest horn base, probably an evolutionary development for growth of the horn in the battles with others of their species over the cows and breeding rights. The cows as a general rule grow the most length, again probably an evolutionary development used to protect the young from predators. We enthusiasts want is all, large base and long length in both bulls and cows.

If we try to research the statistics of this breed we are very disappointed. It appears that not many scholars are even aware of the existence of Watusi (Ankole) cattle, let along have much information on them, their history, development or specifications.

Circumference of the horn base varies tremendously. Small bases would start at about 8 to 10 inches; at this circumference the horn is still slightly larger than most other breeds. Even with a base this small the length of the horn can reach great distances. I have personally measured several long horned Watusi cows and am continually shocked by what a small increase it takes to make a tremendous difference in appearance to the circumference. For instance, I have two skulls from mature Foundation Pure cows of average quality. One of these cows measures 12 inches in circumference; each horn is 36 inches in length but only 46 inches tip to tip as she was an upswept shape. The other skull measures 12.5 inches in circumference, 31 inches in length to each horn and 59.5 inches from tip to tip. This last cow impressed people as being much heavier horned than the first, with actually smaller horns and only ½ inch additional base.

We have several cows with 18-inch circumference and over 30-inch length to each horn; they walk with a rolling motion to balance these huge appendages.

Updated Ankole-Watusi European import information

As it has been previously reported that the only Watusi cattle ever brought out of Africa were brought out in 1929 and 1930 by Walter Schulz and his father Christoph, Marleen Felius of the Netherlands while doing research on the Ankole-Watusi found that there was one more small shipment of 6 head also brought to Germany from Africa in about 1939. The following is a copy of part of the article which appeared in the monthly journal of the Hellabrunn Zoo at Munchen, Germany dated April 1939.

Before the World War [I], the German explorer Professor D. Berger visited East Africa and the behind lying country of the Sultan of Uganda, in the source area of the Nile, between Lake Victoria and Lake Rudolf. Berger found a negro state with crowded cities from a hight standing negro architecture and a densly populated agricultural and cattle keeping country.

The Sultan still was a mighty man, even though under British colonialism. He ruled the Watusi (extremely beautiful and well trained people). When the Sultan was informed about Europe, her structures and inventions, after well listening he replied, “You white are great man, you can be proud on your possessions. But still we have something you don’t. Our pride is to possess cattle with the biggest horns possible.

[Here is some more information about cattle breeds that appeared, then another interesting story follows, the story about the quarantine period of Watusi cattle imported to Germany]

After their arrival in Hamburg, the Watussi cattle were loaded in a - for this purpose - specially adapted “Elbkahne” - a barge. This barge was moored on the wide part of the Elbe river so there was no contact with the mainland. The men taking care of the cattle during the quarantine period were not allowed to leave the barge.

Next to each Watussi animal a German one was stabled. To diagnose any possible infections t once the veterinarian of import affairs in Hamburg not just inspected the animals microscopically by blood sample tests, but also regular blood was moved over from the Watussi to the German control animals, to see if an externally sound looking Watusi did not carry a hidden illness.

If there would have turned up any form of doubt about the health of the animals, the whole herd on board the ship would have been killed and destroyed.

This risk was for the animal dealer, Hermann Ruhe of Alfeld, near Hanover. The several months lasting quarantine period, of course, was expensive. Also the long journey from Central Africa to the East Cost and from there by ship to Hamburg.

Because of the expenses one did not expect many such imports to the Zoos, they decided to breed their own and the Munchener Tierpark - Zoo procured a very fine herd of six breeding animals to breed these zoological treasures for themselves.

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God, I love history and the dedicated folks who research it, and file it. Note the name above "Ruhe". That is the same "zoo" mentioned in a past post, which house's the dwarf polar bear. Does anyone know if there has ever been a work, book or study done on how many of today's small zoo's had their start as an animal dealers holding compound?

Ankole-Watusi history from Jurgen Schultz

What are Watusi cattle? Where did they suddenly appear from? What are they good for? How did they come to be? The following is an account of this breed of cattle. An attempt to answer these key questions.

The cattle industry is a huge industry in our country. There are many divisions to this industry and many varied needs to which end man is constantly striving. There are the Beef industry and the Dairy industry as the two main lines. These two main lines are then further broken down by desired traits which are selectively bred for.

In recent years cattle people have been introduced to many breeds of cattle which, though not new in the world, are new to our country. Each of these breeds possess certain beneficial traits that will enhance weaning weights, milk production, utilization of feed, calving ease, etc.

The Watusi breed of cattle have been present in the North American Continent since some time after World War II. Most of this time these magnificent, huge horned cattle of ancient Africa have been kept in Zoos. Only during the past few years have private individuals taken note of their fine qualities and good traits. The Watusi cattle are now owned by a number of private owners throughout the country as well as by zoos and game farms.

Watusi is the most common of a number of names given to several lines of very similar cattle that are propagated in eastern Africa. They are generally names for the tribes that own them. They are raised in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and parts of the Sudan, the Congo, and Tanzania. They are one of the most distinctive breeds of cattle in all Africa. Essentially they are a cattle of mountain grasslands. The Watusi cattle are kept by Watusi people on the foothills of the Virunga volcanoes. Here the cattle have developed a great degree of hardiness as temperature often reach 120º F by day and drop to 20º F at night. The Watusi cattle seen in southwestern Uganda along the Congo and Rwanda borders are surviving in spite of more than the usual handicaps to cattle raising in Africa, such as extreme overgrazing, stockwater shortage and infectious disease.

Huge uprising horns are the most noticeable characteristic of the Watusi cattle. They have been subject to selection for shape and size of horns in the past. Individual horns will frequently measure five feet in length, six feet tip to tip and 16-18 inches in circumference. These cattle are considered sacred by the tribesmen.

Watusi cattle are the product of nature’s selection for thousands of years. Man has had a hand in shaping them to the extent of also following nature’s instincts and propagating those with the longest, largest horns, etc. selectively. Nature selected the animals in this manner. A cow first must have large enough horns to protect herself and secondly be able to protect her calf. If this horn growth was not attained she could not keep predators such as hyenas at bay. One bite from a hyena will cause an infection to rise in the victim’s body and the hyena will then just follow close by for several days, or as long as it takes, until the victim weakens. Therefore those with inadequate horn growth would perish as well as their offspring - end of that bloodline. The same principal was also true to some extent in the development of disease resistance. Those lacking resistance did not survive.

Watusi calves are born especially alert and within a little time can run beside their mothers, much like a mare and foal. The calves instinctively travel in front of their mothers, within the horn’s reach. When frightened they will dive under the cow for further protection.

The Watusi cattle are known to “stick together” [Glum together is a term used by U.S. Watusi breeders to refer to this trait]. They do this by day or night. By day they are always near to one another and can thereby form a protective “horns out” circle if need be. They also sleep in circle formation, originally with calves in the center for protection. Along with the protective feature of their glumming together goes the fact that they appear to be a highly social breed and just plain enjoy and seek out each other’s company.

The Tsetse fly is an extreme disease carrying problem in Africa and to ward off them and other insects, these cattle have developed an unusually long, ropelike tail.

This breed of cattle can survive on feed and water of poorer quality and less quantity than most other breeds. Their digestive system has the ability to use every bit of moisture, hence a very dry manure.

Watusi cattle did not just suddenly appear - they have been in existence for thousands of years. They, like all domestic cattle, are descendants of the Aurochs, the prehistoric “Wild Ox” mentioned in the Bible. The Aurochs roamed Europe, northern Africa and parts of Asia, becoming completely extinct in 1627 when the last one dies near Warsaw, Poland. Watusi cattle were evidenced in drawings on cave walls and pictured on Egyptian monuments. It is known that they were introduced to western Uganda as early as A.D. 1200 by the Bahima, a pastoral people from the north. However, information on tomb drawings shows long-horned cattle had been domesticated in the Nile Valley by 4000 B.C., before historic times.

When the Bahima people arrived in the vicinity of Lake Victoria, one line moved further south, west of the lake, and then spread eastwards around its southern end and down the eastern border of Tanganyika, where there were pastures and freedom from the Tsetse-fly and other scourges.

Jurgen Schulz of the Catskill Game Farm, Catskill, New York, was able to provide the following information about the spread of the Watusi Cattle. Jurgen’s grandfather, Christoph Schulz, was an animal exporter who lived in Tanganyika [now Tanzania]. Christoph Schulz, along with his son Walter imported some of these cattle into Europe, mostly Germany, in the 1920’s and 1930’s. There they were kept in zoos. After World War II they were propagated more and spread further about Europe and some were brought to Canada. Some cattle from Sweden were imported into the United States. Jurgen and several other importers have in recent years imported some of the cattle from Sweden and England in the United States. Import laws are extremely tight with regard to bringing these cattle into our country. They are not allowed to come directly from Africa, but rather must be the offspring of cattle that have been living in countries such as Sweden or England. The stringent rules are a protective device against bringing disease into our country. Both Sweden and England are not “foot and mouth” disease countries, hence cattle born there are deemed safe for entrance to the United States.

The Watusi people, also known as Tutsi or Batutsi are cattle raisers and warriors. These people are descendants of an invading group. They generally stand in a position of social and economic superiority with respect to the other peoples of the area. The Watusi brought cattle to Burundi and used them to conquer the numerous Hutu population. The Hutu farmers became subjects of the Watusi be receiving cows and protection in exchange for their services.

In Burundi political and economic power was in the hands of the GANWA class, a restricted hereditary political elite - very small number of the Watusi people. Provincial chiefs, as well as the King or MWAMI, belonged to this class.

The Sanga Watusi cattle of Rwanda and Burundi and the north shore of Lake Kivu are a local sub-type of the cattle bred by the Watusi people. The sacred cattle [Inyambo] of the King of Rwanda are of this type. In the Inyambo strain the horns are huge. Horns can reach a tip to tip span of 90+ inches or about eight feet. Horn shape varies. Most common are U shaped or Lyre shaped. They have been obtained by selective breeding and possibly training the horns of young animals.

In Rwanda and Burundi some wealthy tribal chiefs keep giant horned herds of cattle - each chief’s cattle a certain color. One herd red, one white, one spotted, etc. This custom is traceable to an origin in Ethiopia.

The Watusi is usually dark red, but they can be every ordinary color among cattle, including red, black, white, gray, brown, yellow, and dun. A whole dark red is preferred or dark red with small spots or large white splashes.

Times are changing in African livestock raising, just a they do all over the world. Past customs are being forced to give way to better management and the demand for more productivity. In the past tribesmen of the Ankole District of Uganda have been semi-nomadic. They had established homes in areas to which they periodically returned. Cattle raising was their only occupation. Ankole Tribesmen have followed the custom of killing male calves at birth unless they were wanted for breeding. This custom is still followed to some extent. In spite of this poor-seeming practice, the tribes people are warmly attached to their cattle. The owners pet the cattle and talk to them. Cows answer to their names, pushing through the herd when called at milking time.

Milk is a very important part of the diet of the East African people. The Watusi cattle produce high butterfat milk. Some of the peoples traditionally let blood from their cattle which is mixed with the milk to make a high protein food.

There is no refrigeration to keep food as we are used to. The milk is stored in gourds raised by the agriculturalists. The gourds vary much in size from vary small ones for a baby to suck on to large storage vessels. The gourds are opened at the top and the inside cleaned out by scraping and then putting in a burning stick to burn the membranes and char the inside of the gourd. The milk stored in these gourds takes on a smokey char type flavor. It soon begins to sour into a clabbered milk called Moursik. Moursik is a main staple of these people. Babied to old folks thrive on it as it is very nutritious and aids digestion. A Mission Field worker, Gordon Itrich, now of Belfield, North Dakota, tells that this smokey char flavor becomes an acquired taste that is very desirable and one begins to enjoy the smokey odor that permeates the very air about the living quarters.

In the past the cattle totally affected the lives of their owners in many aspects. The people who inter-marry could then inter-breed their cattle and by doing so a unique and yet simple breeding program was maintained. At the time of marrying, a man must be old enough and have enough cattle to be able to make a gift of cattle to the family of the prospective bride. These are unrelated cattle as he is unrelated to his new bride. Also, cattle were commonly considered to be a symbol of status, wealth, and for a long period they have been a medium of exchange.

For a Watusi tribesman to sell his long horned cattle without a good reason would be scandalous and the man who did so would be punished.

Their philosophy that a man owning cattle always has a good [in hand] asset in time of emergency will get him what he wants may not be all bad. The civilized world had held many problems with runaway inflation in the money economy.

From the picture on the Egyptian monuments to their present day surfacing in the mainstream of North American cattle breeding programs the Watusi cattle have proven to be survivors.

Watusi cattle enthusiasts are now banding together through the World Watusi Association to present these multi-faceted cattle to the public. They are gaining acceptance among cattle breeders foe a number of important reasons. First, because it is most noticeable, is the novelty aspect - there is status involved in breeding Watusi carrel. Second, they promise to make an excellent contribution to the Rodeo industry in the form of roping calves, roping steers and eventually bucking bulls. Third, when crossed with beef breeds the offspring show a hybrid vigor capable of producing beef animals of the lean, cholesterol free type that modern day shoppers demand. Fourth, there is an “opportunity” to get involved in a cross breeding program using existing females of any horned breed and having a registerable product in their female offspring, starting at “half bloods” and working on up to Purebreds at seven-eighths bloods. This is the same type of breeding program commonly used in a number of European breeds.

History of the "Cattle of Kings" in the United States.

The following article is the tale of shipping the first Watusi cattle ever exported off of the African continent. This account has been narrated on tape by Walter Schulz, the father of Jurgen Schulz, one the directors of the WWA and former president of the organization. This tape was recorded in 1987 when Walter was 85 years of age and was transcribed by Maureen Neidhardt.

As far as the records show the 42 head, 14 bulls and 28 cows, shipped by the Schulz family in 1929 and 1930 together with 6 animals exported in 1939 form the genealogical ancestors of all of the Foundation Pure Watusi cattle in Europe, England, Sweden, Australia, Canada, the U.S. and anywhere else that they exist outside of Africa.

Yes, here we are again the saga of the Watusi Cattle. Seventy-five years ago, Christoph Schulz (my father and Jurgen’s [WWA director] grandfather) heard about the Watusi cattle in Dar es Salaam the capital of that time German East Africa from a government official who had just returned from the colony’s most northwestern provinces, Rwanda and Urundi. In those days it took the British protectorate. In the early 1920’s my father resumed his work as a naturalist and game collector in Tanganyika, formerly German East Africa, and I, 18 years old, assisted him in the capture of wild animals for the zoos the world over. I am trying to give the Watusi lovers a condensed report, how, why we undertook to collect Watusis in their native country, motor transport, rail and ship them in two consignments, 1929 and 1930 from Mombasa to Hamburg, Germany. Each consignment I personally cared for during the voyage.

In 1925, my father, I accompanying him, went to east Africa and resumed his work as a wildlife collector and captor of animals of zoological interest. Let’s name it right! A wildlife captor in East Africa. We started to rebuild the big game ranch which was lost in the First World War situated near Arusha. The only governor’s license to capture big game like rhino, elephant, giraffe, all the antelope, gazelles, zebra, etc. was granted to us by the governor of the mandated territory of Tanganyika.

Each year in March and April large consignments of African founders left Tanga or Mombasa on board a vessel of the Holland African line arriving in May at Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg. Due to the First World War and its aftermath, European zoos were in a bad shape — exhibition and financial wise. To overcome the difficulties we offered to exhibit our animals in a special Africa show within the zoo. The takings to be equally divided 50/50. The fifty percent of the zoo’s share was for animal purchase. Giraffe, zebra, antelope, ostriches, even a greater band of baboons were the attractions.

To exhibit something never seen before in the zoo, my father had the idea to collect a number of Watusi cattle. One day in September 1927 we loaded our safari car, a one ton model T Ford, with supplies, petrol and made us on our way north to Nairobi and further on to Kampala. There were no roads those days, there were only tracks leading through the untouched African wild veldt with all the wild animals roaming about. We met herds of elephants, once a rhino galloped alongside us on our track and we only were able to travel at daytime because at night one could lose the track and get lost in the veldt. We cam to Kampala and leaned that here were no motor roads, tracks or whatsoever there. They had found their way there well past 50 or 100 years ago and they were fine herds of Watusi cattle.

We made the acquaintance with a young veterinary officer (government vet officer) and a German butcher who directed the municipal abattoirs. Both were willing to help us. To assist us, the vet offered his quarantine station to keep the animals there before export and to look veterinary like through them. Of course, we wanted the Watusi to be middle aged with good horns, perfect animals, breeding stock. So the butcher selected, out of hundreds, those he thought fit and they were turned over to the quarantine station. The vet tested them and he found that a high percentage had tuberculosis so they were returned to the slaughter house.

It took almost two years until we had 21 head of cattle, 7 bulls and 14 cows - perfect, and healthy in the quarantine station. Why 21? Only 21 would go on the port side aft deck of the Dutch cargo boat we were loading. We intended to load them at Mombasa.

It took a lot of organization to get these cattle shipped. They had to have stalls so the stalls were ordered in South Africa in the port of Durban and built there and erected during the voyage up to Mombasa by the carpenter and the boatmen of the ship.

Since on the tropical coast of Africa there are no cattle, one cannot buy cattle food. Alfalfa, teff and concentrates are unknown as are cattle so all of the food had to be put on board in Durban.

The Watusi arrived in time in the port of Kilendene, the port of the town of Mombasa. It was quite a sensation to get them out of the trucks and to lead them on the ship. We had to build a special gangway for them. It took many bumps on the heads of the personnel loading them and to myself and even feeding them on the ship I had to endure many bumps by their big heads — horns on my head.

White the Watusi were housed on the port side of the aft deck the starboard side was occupied by cases and crates, giraffe, antelope, zebras, ostrich, baboons, monkeys and other animals for the zoos. We had a fine voyage and we came to Antwerp to Rotterdam and at last to Hamburg. Everywhere it was a sensation. The dockers and the people working on the ship with the cargo coming home, telling their people of cows with horns X feet long. It was unbelievable and I suppose there was a lot of dispute and a few were called liars!!

Arriving at Hamburg with our consignments we were congratulated by the state vet who had seen previous shipments of wild animals of ours and he congratulated us for this fine shipment but he said “I cannot allow the cattle to land”. “We have a law and all of the other German states have a law that NO African cattle may be imported under NO circumstances. So we were still aboard. The ship was going to leave for its home port of Amsterdam and we were really in trouble, what to do with the cattle?

Our agent ashore phoned all of the various state veterinarys in Bavaria, Rhineland, and everywhere. NO — the import of African cattle was absolutely prohibited. But the free state of Sexonia had no such laws and here that saved us. The Zoo in Leipzig offered to house the Watusi and the condition was they had to stay 15 days in quarantine within the zoo in Leipzig. Oh, now we off loaded the cattle into cattle trucks and off they went to Leipzig with a lot of our other animals for exhibition in that zoo.

Editor’s Comments: By Maureen Neidhardt

To help get a better understanding of the trips by sea that were made with the cargo of Watusi cattle and other animals, pull a map and you will find the port city of Mombasa along the eastern coast of Africa, country of Kenya. They traveled the Indian Ocean north into the Gulf of Aden, northwesterly up the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, then traveled the Mediterranean Sea west, through the Strait of Gibraltar and finally north, through the English Channel to Hamburg, Germany, a tremendous distance.

The actual distribution of cattle beyond the Leipzig Zoo where the Walter Schulz narration ends is not certain. It is known that many European Zoos have acquired Watusi cattle as have certain places in England and Sweden. The second World War intervened and it is a wonder that nay number of these cattle were survivors.

They arrived finally in the U.S. in the 1960s; the exact date is documented in the records of the Catskill Game Farm, Catskill, NY.

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It is incredible what can be done to save an endangered animal when zoo's, private breeder's, interested folks, and enthusiast's put aside their bias and private agenda's, and work together for a common goal.

Type Catskill Game Farm in the search box in the upper left for more great Catskill Game Farm information. Type Ankole Watusi in the search bar to see the first cattle on American shores at Catskill. Today all full blood Watusi cattle totally evolved from this African importation. When they first arrived to North America, they were intensely inbred as a result of a closed genetic base.

The first ad for Ankole-Watusi cattle in America--1979 Western Horseman

World Watusi Association

Mr. Immambo above, has a horn measurement of 76 3/4" tip to tip, and a base circumference of 26".

In 1984 a group of concerned Watusi enthusiasts comprised of Don Zavislan of Pueblo West, Colorado; Darol Dickinson, Calhan, Colorado; Marlin Neidhardt, Hebron, North Dakota; Peter Lang, Santa Rosa, California; Bill Lowe, Canon City, Colorado; Emmett Jones, Dobbin, Texas; and Willard Moore, Columbus, Montana became the first Board of Directors of a new organization to become known as the World Watusi Association. The Association was formed to collect records and maintain a stud book of the pedigrees for this rare and unique breed of cattle

The Cattle of Kings--Bmburo, South Africa

Ankole-Watusi cattle--Private breeder in Oklahoma





Interesting gene fact: The black gene, which produces the "black tip" on an animals horns, also produces a smaller horn.

Ankole-Watusi cattle--Disney's Animal Kingdom





Ankole-Watusi cattle--Busch Gardens

Ankole-Watusi cattle--San Diego Wild Animal Park

Ankole-Watusi cattle--Phoenix Zoo



Ankole-Watusi cattle--Denver Zoo

Ankole-Watusi cattle--Safari West, Santa Rosa, California



The Feld Family






Courtesy of Mike Naughton

I applaud Kenneth Feld, because after promoting Siegfried & Roy for so many years you would think you would be a bit less excited about a man being turned into a tiger, but he is obviously still excited by the prospect. Technically the cow/bovine that Nicole mentions, in an effort at fact's, is known as an Ankole-Watusi, of the type known as Sanga cattle, meaning indigenous to South Africa. First imported to the United States, by Walter Schultz, father of famed animal dealer/zoologist Jurgen Schultz and Catskill Game Farm in the early 60's. Thanks to the effort's of zoo's and private breeders the Ankole-Watusi is no longer endangered.

All in all very good interview's by the Feld family, and a great job by the girls. Until you have actually done it, you can never realize how difficult it is to give an interview when the interviewer has a "prepared list of questions" to ask. They will usually "abbreviate" their question or ask the next one before you you have answered the first one. The worst is when they ask one out of order, to the previous one they asked, and it doesn't make sense to the folks listening, when you answer it. The worst numbnuts at doing that that I ever interviewed with was Merv Griffin.