Question

Name two exotic and indigenous breeds of buffalo?

Answer 1

Hint: A specific group of domestic animals having the homogeneous appearance, homogeneous behaviour, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species is known as a breed.

Complete answer:
Indigenous breeds are those breeds that are native to the soil and climatic conditions of the geographical area that it has been domesticated in. Exotic breeds are those that are foreign and are usually used for crossbreeding. An advantage of the exotic breed over the indigenous is that they produce a much better yield.

We have already discussed the difference between exotic and indigenous breeds above. Now let us explore some examples of both.
Two indigenous breeds of buffalo are as given-
i) Gyr- this is a South Asian variety of buffalo that are majorly found in the Gir forest of Gujrat. It is also useful in the improvement of other breeds like the Sahiwal and Red Sindhi.
ii) Kangayam- this is the breed that is seen in Mysore mostly. The breed name comes from the town kangeyam. It produces highly nutritious milk.

Two exotic breeds of buffalo are as given-
i) Danish red cattle- this is the major dairy cattle that is used in Northern European countries especially in Denmark. These are used as beef breeds once they are done with their useful lifetime.
ii) Brown Swiss cattle- as depicted in the name this breed is commonly found in Switzerland. This is the oldest of all dairy breeds. It is light brownish in colour with a creamy white muzzle and dark nose and it too had dark blue eye pigmentation.

Note: More than 800 breeds of cattle are recognized worldwide, out of them around 27 are said to be Indigenous breeds of cattle and 7 of buffalo that belongs to India. The exotic breeds of cattle and buffalo are very impressive in the commercial sense as they maintain a high standard with respect to milk production as well as breeding efficiency.