PUNGANUR COW A CRAZE AMONG THE RICH

PUNGANUR COW

A CRAZE AMONG THE RICH

The world’s shortest cow, the Punganur dwarf cow, now an endangered species, is most sought after in Greater Hyderabad due its high-fat milk yield, low weight, and small size.Judicial officers, politicians and others are choosing to rear the Punganur cow in their backyard and the numbers have grown to around 10 in the city. Elsewhere in the state the number is less than 70. The AP Biodiversity Board chairman, Dr R. Hampaiah, said, “We are working on applying for Geographical Indicator status for the Punganur dwarf cow as well as for the Ongole Bull. The Punganur cow milk has 12 per cent fat, while ordinary cow milk has only around four per cent. This cow has high levels of immunity, is drought resistant and its milk and ghee have medicinal value.”

The animal measures around 60 to 80 centimetres in height. Here’s an example of a Punganur pure breed cow, owned by a farmer Mr Srinivasa Rao of Janakpur in Adilabad district. It is 68.58 centimetres in height, is four-years-old and weighs less than 50 kgs. Mr Rao is now applying for an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records. So far the record for the world’s shortest cow is being held by a Dexter cow in UK. It measures upto 85 centimetres.

The milk of this small breed has high fat content and rich medicinal properties An increasing number of backyards of ultra-rich families in the city is in the possession of a common asset these days: a special breed of cow — the Punganur dwarf cow — which originated in Chittoor district. Considered among the world's smallest breed of cows, the Punganur breed's milk has a high fat content and rich medicinal properties. While cow milk normally has a fat content of 3 to 3.5 per cent, the Punganur breed's milk contains 8 per cent, similar to buffalo milk, according to officials of the Animal Husbandry Department.

Perhaps, this is why the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has about 200 Punganur cows in its cattle-yard. Ghee prepared from the milk of these cows is being used in ‘archana' (offering) for Lord Venkateswara. Available only in small numbers, the Punganur cow has become a craze, a status symbol, among the wealthy in the Andhra Pradesh capital of late. “They are shelling out at least Rs.1 lakh to buy the cow, which is believed to bring good luck,” sources in the Forest Department said. Among high-society persons to be in possession of the special breed are the likes of P. Srinivas Rao, a top businessman, N. Harikrishna, a politician, and TTD chairman K. Bapi Raju. An estimated 50 cows of the breed are in the city now. Even Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has reportedly sought a cow.  “There are many good breeds of cows, including the Punganur one. 

                                                                            Prof. John Kurakar