Sanga cattle is the collective name for indigenous cattle of some regions in Africa. They are sometimes identified as a subspecies with the scientific name Bos taurus africanus. Their history of domestication and their origins in relation to taurine cattle, zebu cattle (indicine), and native African varieties of the ancestral aurochs are a matter of debate. "African taurine", "sanga", "zenga", "sheko", "African indicine" are all sub-groups of Sanga cattle.
Genetic signatures and classification A relatively complete survey on the many breeds of Sanga cattle is given by Kim et al. 2020. Admixture analysis from this paper groups Sanga cattle under this taxonomy:
African taurine (N'Dama, Muturu) African humped cattle African indicine (Mursi) African zenga (Fogera, Horro) African sanga (Ankole) Sheko In the analyses cited by Kim, African taurine (Bos taurus taurus) first split from Eurasian taurine. A group of Asian indicine cattle ("Zebu", B. t. indicus) split off in around 700 AD (around the time of Islamization of the East African coast) and mingled with African taurines in different ratios, producing the four groups of African humped cattle. In Kim's own analysis, African taurines gained key adaptations in 16 genes for immunity (most importantly, trypanosomosis tolerance), heat-tolerance, and reproduction. Even so-called "African indicine" contains significant amounts of African taurine adaptations to the African environment. The existence of "taurine", "sanga", "zenga", and "indicine" groups among Africa cattle is generally agreed-upon by groups of researchers despite disagreements in how these groups originated. Specifically, the main topic in dispute is whether African taurines were separately domesticated.
Traits
Trypanotolerance Trypanosomiasis poses a considerable constraint on livestock agricultural development in tsetse fly-infested areas of West and Central Africa. International research conducted by ILRI in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kenya has shown that the N'Dama is the most resistant breed. In Nigeria, research has shown that N'Dama is up to two to three times more resistant (or 25% total) than Nguni cattle (about 8% total), and the F1 N'Dama × Nguni cross is about twice as resistant (16.5% overall) compared to pure Nguni. While in Kenya, research conducted by KALRO has shown a similarity with crossbreeding N'Dama with Boran cattle.
Origins The timeline for their history is the subject of extensive debate. A combination of genetic studies with archaeological research, including cultural history, has clarified the question of the complex origin of Sanga cattle in recent years.
Origin of the African taurine
Archaeological evidence Morphological features of early Sanga cattle, such as lyre-shaped horns, are depicted on murals of Ancient Egypt.
Near-eastern introduction theory The current African cattle population derives from three major introductions from Asia: The first cattle introduced into Africa, the humpless longhorn (B. t. longifrons) arrived around 5000 BC. They were followed by the humpless shorthorn (B. t. brachyceros) about 2,500 years later, and finally the humped zebu (B. indicus) around 1500 BC. Thus, Sanga cattle descend firstly from an aurochs domesticated in the Near East. After their introduction to Egypt, about 8000 years ago, they spread all over the Sahara, which was then still green, then to West Africa. The North African pastoralists interbred their domestic cattle with wild African aurochs of various regional races, both in the paternal and maternal lines over a long time, which is reflected in the genetic distinctness of Sanga cattle from both European/Near Eastern and from Indian Zebu cattle. Hereby special adaptations to the African climate and conditions were introduced that characterize Sanga cattle. African taurines are distinguished by having small cervicothoracic humps that are typical for (wild) aurochs, instead of the high thoracic humps that characterize the Zebu. Rather than the domestication of cattle happening in the region of the Tadrart Acacus, domesticated cattle more likely were introduced to the region. Cattle are thought to not have entered Africa independently, but rather, are thought to have been brought into Africa by cattle pastoralists. By the end of the 8th millennium BP, domesticated cattle are thought to have been brought into the Central Sahara. The Central Sahara (e.g., Tin Hanakaten, Tin Torha, Uan Muhuggiag, Uan Tabu) was a major intermediary area for the distribution of domesticated animals from the Eastern Sahara to the Western Sahara. Based on cattle remains near the Nile dated to 9000 BP and cattle remains near Nabta Playa and Bir Kiseiba reliably dated to 7750 BP, domesticated cattle may have appeared much earlier, near the Nile, and then expanded to the western region of the Sahara. Though undomesticated aurochs are shown, via archaeological evidence and rock art, to have dwelled in Northeast Africa, aurochs are thought to have been independently domesticated in India and the Near East. After aurochs were domesticated in the Near East, cattle pastoralists may have migrated, along with domesticated aurochs, through the Nile Valley and, by ~8000 BP, through Wadi Howar, into the Central Sahara. The mitochondrial divergence of undomesticated Indian cattle, European cattle, and Sanga cattle (Bos primigenius) from one another in 25,000 BP is viewed as evidence supporting the conclusion that cattle may have been domesticated in Northeast Africa, particularly, the eastern region of the Sahara, between 10,000 BP and 8000 BP. Cattle (Bos) remains may date as early as 9000 BP in Bir Kiseiba and Nabta Playa. While the mitochondrial divergence between Eurasian and Sanga cattle in 25,000 BP can be viewed as supportive evidence for cattle being independently domesticated in Africa, introgression from undomesticated Sanga cattle in Eurasian cattle may provide an alternative interpretation of this evidence.
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