Cattle : GIR

 

Country of origin : India. Brazil.  Also spelled GYR

Australian Status:

International status:

Arrived in Australia: 1981. Re-introduced in the 2000's.

Australian Population: 2020 2 pure cows. About 200 upgrades. 2022 - estimate 500 upgrades.

Distribution: India, Brazil, USA, Australia, and probably other places.

History: An ancient breed, connected to humans through the mists of time. Originally

from India, from the forests of the Gir hills in Kathiawar and Saurashtra areas of Gujarat state - tropical. Due to being spead over a vast area, various localised names are used such as Kathiawari, Bhodari. Kept by many nomadic peoples.

Bred in Brazil a long time too. Brazil stopped imports of Gir from India in 1929 due to quarantine; by the mid 1940's Gir in Brazil had become immensely valuable - a million dollars a beast in today's money. 

Gir came to Australia in 1981. They went from place of origin (still investigating if India or Brazil) to the Cocos Island Quarantine Station for 90 days before coming to Australia. The Gir came with Grey Brahman, Red Zebu, Indu Brazil Zebu, Beefalo (Brahman crossed with bison, an American breed) and Beefmaster. All were said to be heat tolerant and tick resistant (source Canberra Times, June 30 1981). These Gir were brought into Queensland.

Earlier, in 1933, some zebu were brought in from North America (18 Brahman plus one Santa Gertrudis bull) and Brazil (the Guzerat breed), among them a predominantly Gir nine month old calf (source An Australian Ark by Ian Parsonson). The 1930's was the beginning of northern Australia's love affair with, and change to, zebu breeds.

But were Gir here earlier...  Mr. James Pye of NSW had a red zebu bull in 1912 and had been breeding zebu cattle and crosses for some time. In a photo in the Observer, Adelaide, in March 1912, his red bull looks like a Gir. Pye's zebu were into their third generation by 1911, and proving to stay fat in even the most adverse conditions and remain tick free. James Pye lived at Liberty Hall, in the Blacktown Richmond area, on Eastern Creek. He had gained a herd of zebu and crosses from his grandfather Joseph Pye, who in turn got them from Governor FitzRoy back in the 1840's. Cattle from India. Sources, Trove.

James Pye in turn, got another two zebu cows from Lord Hopetoun, the Marquis of Linlithgow, who brought them in while he was Australia's first Governor General. In fact, when coming here in 1900, the Marquis was ill and the two zebu cows put on board as a gift to provide him with milk, as one did not like to travel alone. Being milkers, and from draught stock, from India, they sound like Gir. Despite one being old, she calved perfectly healthily for Pye; in fact she had three calves for him. At least one of the cows was white. He got a bull from the Sydney Zoological Gardens whose Director, Le Soeuf, had for some time been singing the praises of these cattle as being ideal for Australia.

The Pye's found the cattle extremely hardy and disease resistant, being immune to red water, even the first and second cross to Bos taurus being improved. The beef was declared of excellent flavour by several people. Pye also recommended the hump meat as being an excellent cut, succulent and tender. Opinions were expressed these cattle would be ideal for Australia's hot north. Were these zebu Gir?... perhaps! Or another zebu breed; mentioning here as we don't know at this stage and it's interesting zebu were sought and bred at that stage. In their descriptions, they were said to be used for draught work in India. (Windsor & Richmond Gazette, March 1912). In 1913 on Christmas Creek station in Queensland, zebu of Brahman strain were described as having no ticks at all, this sparked huge interest. The meat however was said to be not much good, with no flavour. (Capricornian, September 1913). Pye was still breeding his zebu, into the 1930's, he died in 1933. His son took over then.

Earlier in 1803, 307 Indian cattle arrived in splendid condition, only 12 having died on the way, on the Castle of Good Hope, from Bengal to Sydney. It's not known what type apart from being zebu. Many Indian cattle thus came here early, some shipments of over 600 head, and probably bred with the African cattle and English imports of early colonials. Trove sources.

The pure Gir brought in, in 1981, seemed to quietly vanish after a time, perhaps as no breed registry was started. Three decades later Leon Rogan of Alegra stud, NSW, spent a lot of time tracing them, and bought the last few pure stud animals. He also gathered together a small mob of Gyr of herd quality, with a little Brahman in their background. Alegra since has imported Gir straws from Canada and used IVF successfully, and is building up a good pure herd.

Canada got their Gir from the USA which in turn obtained them from Brazil. There are a couple of herds of Gyr in Australia, however their purity varies as most have other blood to a greater or lesser extent, with about 30 to 40 animals being close to pure. Alegra has two pure females with POI after their registered name, meaning Pure Of India. These are the only two pure Gir cows at present. Another herd in Queensland is also using imported straws and building up a herd.

Gyr that were POI and upgraded Gir to 31/32nds were bred by Gary Bestel. He had 5 POI females, his stud was in in mid north of NSW. They were from Brazilian genetics. His herd were beef bred but with excellent milk too. At the time fashion was for red Brahman, white markings and speckles were not desired, so many got bred out to red Brahman and no-one wanted traditional Gir.  When Gary dispersed his herd of Gie due to health problems, they were sold as one herd to Gloucester, NSW.

In Brazil Gir crosses to Holsteins for dairy are a breed now called Girlondo, and traditional Gir are called Gir padrão there. We have Brazilian genetics here. 

Breed Traits : Triple purpose breed. Draught, milk, beef. Famously the most gentle of all zebu breeds. Being used for draught work, they developed excellent shoulders and well formed, powerful hindquarters. A zebu (Bos indicus) breed.

Tremendous milkers, so raise good calves. Low birth weight calves mean ease of calving. Calves grow rapidly due to plentiful milk. 

Gentle nature, and affectionate. They enjoy being with humans and adore a scratch. Easy calvers, having low birth weight calves that grow rapidly from the plentiful supply of milk. Mature a little later than some breeds, but are productive into their 20's, a long lived breed that remains in excellent condition and breeds into old age. 

Like most zebu breeds they do not like to be separated, a survival mechanism, but can be worked normally as a mob while kept together and have very good natures. After all there are lion in the Gir forests, and other large predators, such as tiger. The bulls can be run with cows and calves without any problems at all, maintaining a good herd structure, with bulls being protective. Cows like to sleep with calves in the middle of a small circle, for safety.

Many are red through to chocolate and almost black, there are also red with white in speckles, spots and patches, right through to white with red spots. Skin is black. Distinctive horns are set back and usually sweep back, downwards, and sideways, then outwards in a non-threatening manner.

Big hump, the largest of all zebu breeds, which is well marbled. Long drooping ears have a fold, like a distinct notch, at the top and are long and spiralled, used to dissipate heat and swat insects. Loose skin and dewlaps to cool the blood. Glossy fine coat repels insects. Good solid build, standing four square with excellent quarters. Solid across the body, not the narrow body of some hot climate breeds. Hard black feet. Long whip like tail to swat insects efficiently

Big heads, long nose, with a distinctive convex forehead which is a heat deflector for the brain and pituitary gland. The prominent forehead is like a shield. It also protects the eyes from glaring sun. The cranial shield ensures the eyes align with the horn base - this indicates the cattle are sacred in parts of India. The eyes are almond shaped. Gir can see when the eyes are almost completely closed to protect against insects. There's ample loose skin around the eyes to protect them from heat.

Very good doers. In India used primarily for milking. Due to their hardiness and quiet temperament, they are a favourite house cow. Generous milk yield, big well-formed udders. Ghee made from the butterfat is immensely popular in India. The milk is the A2 type, more nutritious than A1 milk from European dairy cattle. It is rich in antioxidant beta-carotene, Vitamin A and Vitamin E, Omega 3 and six, and other trace elements. Being close to the structure of human milk, it is more easily digested.

The beef is also used, moreso in other countries than India. Tick and disease resistant. The dung is useful for fuel in some areas of India. When walking, they place their feet with care and take long, slow steps. The weight is evenly distributed. This prevents pasture being impacted and cut up. In areas of India they are prized for not causing damage to fragile lands.

Researching ancient stories that Gir are so valuable they even pee gold, and the urine has medicinal qualities, Junagadh University recently carried out studies. Indeed, gold is found in the urine of Gir. Over 400 samples were tested. Even better, many compounds such as antibiotics were found, so may be useful medically.

The Gir has been used to improve other breeds, especially to give better milk production, tick resistance, heat tolerance, easy calving and a good temperament. It has been a founder of several other breeds such as the Indu Brazil, Girlondo and of course, the famous Brahman. The Girlondo has been used in recent times to improve Australian dairy cattle in hot areas. 

Organisation: None in Australia.  However they are registered with Australian Brahman Breeders' Association Australia Limited. Hence one sees some Brahman with a marked influence of Gir.  Alegra stud on the far north coast of NSW, owned by Leon Rogan, is the main stud at present. Leon is passionate about the breed and is to be commended for doing all he can to keep them going in Australia, and for kindly providing information to help in this listing. Thanks also to Gary Bestel for information about Gir here too.

Additional Notes: Also known as Gyr. 

Photo : Gir bull on Alegra stud, kindly supplied by Leon Rogan.

Page by Janet Lane

 

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