On May 2, a female ankole calf named Belle was born at the Denver Zoo to mother Trixie and father Ralph.
Along with a second female, Alice, the trio was named after characters from “The Honeymooners” television show.
Belle is staying close to the three adults who, like musk ox, sometimes form a triangular formation for defense, according to a news release from the Denver Zoo.
Known for their massive horns, ankoles are one of the oldest breeds of cattle, dating back to 4,000 B.C. They have the longest horns of any cattle breed in the world. The adults are huge, with males weighing up to 1,600 pounds and females up to 1,200 pounds.
Belle, who has yet to sprout horns, currently weighs 63 pounds.
According to Oklahoma State University, the Ankole-Watusi have been dubbed the “cattle of kings” because they were owned by African kings for thousands of years.
The cattle, also known as Egyptian or Hamitic Longhorns, appear in pictographs in the Egyptian pyramids.
The Denver Zoo said that although similar to Texas Longhorns, the Ankole’s horns are for more than show.
The horns act as a cooling mechanism for the animals in the hot sun of central and southern Africa, where the cattle were originally found. Blood flows from the bodies of the cattle into the horns. There, the heat is radiated out into the surrounding air, helping to cool the cattle.
Ankole in North America have interesting ties to Denver.
In January 1983, North Americans interested in the Ankole-Watusi cattle breed met in Denver and formed the Ankole Watusi International Registry, according to Oklahoma State University. Many of the participants in the 1983 Denver conference had been raising Ankole-Watusi since the mid-1970s.
“They felt that it was time to begin a breed registry, which could collect and maintain pedigreed information and conserve this interesting breed,” according to OSU.
Within five months, the registry had 74 members nationwide.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
