Exotic African cattle find home in U.S.
Published: June 14, 2005
Ankole Watusi cattle, with their ultralong horns and African heritage, couldn’t seem more out of place on a Central Florida ranch not far from Interstate 75.
Once considered a measure of wealth among tribesmen in eastern Africa, the distinctive breed with horns that can measure 8 feet from tip to tip are gradually disappearing in their homeland. But a small band of enthusiasts, including Leesburg’s Peter Strimenos, are preserving the majestic Watusi’s bloodlines in this country.
“It may be that the breeders in North America will have to reintroduce the purebred Watusi cattle to Africa someday,” said Strimenos, one of only a handful of breeders in Florida.
Rarely slaughtered for meat except in special ceremonies, Watusi cows were frequently milked and then bled to produce a yogurtlike high-protein drink. Also known as African Longhorn, Watusi cattle can be found from Lake Mobuto to Lake Tanganyika in eastern Africa.
Their distinctive image can be found in cave drawings and on Egyptian tombs. They have been used as wedding gifts, and the number of cattle is still indicative of the owner’s status in traditional African society.
Even so, Watusi cattle have begun to lose their significance in their homeland. Prized as beasts of burden for thousands of years, they have been replaced by tractors and other farm equipment.
“Watusi were used as oxen in their native Africa,” Strimenos said. “They weren’t eaten for meat - the cattle were seen as sacred.”
A native of Alabama, Strimenos has been breeding Watusi cattle for the past 15 years on his ranch.
“They are show-stoppers,” said Strimenos, who fell in love with the exotic breed when he first saw one nearly two decades ago.
Strimenos has about a dozen Watusi cattle, though he has had as many as 35 at one time. He said he hopes to build up his stock again in the near future.
“It’s just a hobby,” said Strimenos, who is co-owner of a golf and country club. “I enjoy looking at them and walking around them.”
Long-horned cattle were established in Egypt as far back as 4000 B.C., and the breed migrated to Africa, where it mixed with longhorn cattle from India. The resulting breed produced remarkable cattle that became established in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. They were called Ankole in Uganda and Watusi in Rwanda.
Despite their intimidating horns, Watusi actually have gentle dispositions.
“In Africa, they use those horns to fend off lions,” said Strimenos, who gives his cattle African-sounding names such as Zulu and Kesha.
He said the Watusi, which tend to stay together as a group, will instinctively form a circle with the young in the middle. They then use their horns to ward off would-be predators such as jackals or lions.
“I’ve seen them do it when dogs come around,” Strimenos said.
With a quick turn of the head, they can swing their horns about 100 mph, he said: “They use them like baseball bats.”
Because the horns are not solid throughout, blood circulates through a portion of them, helping keep the animal cool when the temperature outside is hot. The hardy beasts can survive in extremely hot climates with little water and poor grazing.
The calves are born small - 10 to 15 pounds - but are capable of running with the herd a few hours after birth. Highly social animals, they prefer to stay in a group for company and protection.
A small number of Watusi cattle had been exported from Africa and into Europe in the 1920s and 1930, before the practice was banned. In the 1960s, a few Watusi were introduced to America, imported from Scandinavia.
While American breeders have tried to preserve the pure bloodlines of the Watusi stock, African breeders are crossbreeding them now to produce mixed-breed cattle for more milk and beef production.
Although there is some need for purebred Watusi cattle in this country for petting zoos - and for use in rodeo training because of their unusually large horns - they have little commercial appeal. The meat is extremely low in fat, milk production limited and the outsize horns make them difficult to handle.
“Breeding Watusi is not a commercial enterprise,” said Mitchell Kalmanson, another Central Florida Watusi enthusiast.
Kalmanson has an exotic-animal ranch and has been breeding Watusi for more than 20 years. He has about two dozen.
“I just enjoy them,” he said.
Elizabeth Lundgren, executive secretary of the Ankole Watusi International Registry, based in Spring Hill, Kan., said the African bloodline is being kept alive by the dedication of enthusiasts like Strimenos and Kalmanson. She said she wasn’t aware of any other pure Watusi breeders in Florida.
The horns of the purebred Watusi are usually larger and whiter than cattle that have been mixed with more traditional types of cattle.
Mixed-breed Watusi, with their smaller horns and higher percentage of fat, could have more commercial possibilities both here and in Africa.
But Strimenos doesn’t care.
“As a kid in Alabama, I don’t know which end of a cow ate grass,” he said. “But once I saw a Watusi, I knew I had to have one.”
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