Ankole-Watusi
The Ankole-Watusi is a modern African list of [cattle breeds|breed] of domestic cattle. It derives from the Ankole group of Sanga cattle breeds of east and central Africa. It is characterized by very large horns.
History
The Ankole-Watusi derives from cattle of the Ankole group of Sanga cattle breeds of east and central Africa. Some of these were brought to Germany as zoo specimens in the early twentieth century, and from there they spread to other European zoos. Some were imported to the United States, and in 1960 a herd was started in New York State by cross-breeding some of them with an unrelated Canadian bull. A breed society, the Ankole Watusi International Registry, was set up in 1983, and in 1989 a breed standard was drawn up.The total number of purebred animals was estimated in 1984 at 120 head; in 2016 the total population was thought to be approximately 1500 head, some 80% of them in the United States. In 2025 the conservation status of the breed was listed in DAD-IS as "at risk/critical maintained" – based on a population estimated at for the year 2022 – while on the watchlist of the American Livestock Conservancy it was listed as "recovering".
Characteristics
The coat may be of a number of different colors, but is usually red. Body weights are in the range for cows and for bulls. The horns are unusually large, with a wide spread and the largest circumference found in any cattle breed. Guinness World Records lists a bull named with a horn circumference of and a steer named Lurch, with horns measuring, as record-holders.First parturition in heifers is usually at about 24 months. Calves weigh some at birth.