Top 21 Best Cow Breeds Found in India

This is a list of the cow breeds found in India with partly or fully of Indian origin, used for dairy and listed as best for milking cow breeds in the country. The Brahman cattle, Nelore cattle, Guzerat cattle and Zebu type are most popular breeds of cattle, originating from India and South Asia.

How many Breeds of Cow found in India?

There are 37 plus cow breeds found in India, Among the best for milking cow breeds are Sahiwal, Gir, Tharparkar, Rathi and Red Sindhi.

Gir/Gyr, Gujarat

Gyr cattle is zebu cattle type breed and rated among the best dairy breeds in the world. Originally the breed is from the Gir forest of Saurashtra region and Kathiawar.

Sahiwal, Haryana/Punjab

Sahiwal is also a breed of Zebu cattle and one of the best dairy breeds in India. The Sahiwal originated from Punjab region and now also found in Australia and Africa.

Tharparkar, Rajasthan

Tharparkar cattle is a dual purpose breed and got its name from Thar Desert of Rajasthan. The cow breed is also known as White Sindhi and today one of the top five milking cows in India.

Red Sindhi, Rajasthan

Red Sindhi cattle originated from Bikaner in Rajasthan and also crossed with Jerseys in many places. The Red Sindhi is one of the popular dairy breeds in India as well as in many other countries.

Rathi, Rajasthan/Haryana

Rathi cattle breed originated from Rajasthan and an important dual purpose cow breed of India. The cattle locally known as Rathi and Rath of two variant and also different in colour.

Kankrej, Gujarat/Rajasthan

Kankrej cow breed of India is a zebuine cattle that originates from the region of Rann of Kutch but also present in Rajasthan.

The cattle breed is one of the largest and heaviest cow breeds in India, A cross breed is known as Brahman cattle in United States, imported from India by cross breeding of Ongole, Gir and Krishna Valley.

Ongole, Andhra Pradesh

Ongole cattle originates from Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh and has a great demand in India as well as other countires, commonly used in bull fights in Mexico. Ongole cattle are famous for their big bulls and one of the heaviest breeds in the world.

Nelore cattle brought to Brazil from India from the district of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and today Brazil is the largest breeder of Nelore.

Krishna Valley, Andhra Pradesh/Karnataka

Krishna Valley cattle from North Karnataka region is used for agricultural purposes and one of the moderate milk yielders cow but used for cross-breeding Kankrej, Ongole and Gyr cattle for Brahman cattle breed in United States.

Deoni, Maharashtra

Deoni cattle is the native breed of cow in India, originated from districts of Karnataka and Maharashtra. The cattle sometimes known as Dongari is the dual purpose breed of Maharashtra and one of the most important cattle breeds for drought prone region in India.

Dangi, Maharashtra

Dangi cattle are also draught breed of cattle from Nasik and Ahmednagar districts, known for their adaptability to drought prone region as well as heavy rainfall areas.

Red Kandhari, Maharashtra/Karnataka

Red Kandhari or Lal Kandhari cattle breed is native to Marathawada region in Maharashtra and also most commonly found in North Karnataka region, named for deep red coloured skin.

Hariana, Haryana/Uttar Pradesh

Hariana cattle is one of the popular dairy breeds and produce about 5 liters of milk a day. The cattle are good milk yielders and one of the most important dual-purpose cattle breed of India.

Khillari, Maharashtra/Karnataka

Khillari cattle breed is native to Satara, Sangli regions in Maharashtra and few districts of Karnataka. The cow breed is very popular and adapted to drought prone regions in the states and the origin from the Hillikar breed of cattle from Mysore.

Hallikar, Karnataka

Hallikar breed of cattle is very common at Mysore Hassan belt of Karnataka and the bulls are are known for their strength and endurance, classified as a draught cattle breed in India.

Amrit Mahal cattle from the state of Mysore is originated from the Hallikar breed and received the royal patronage.

Vechur, Kerala

Vechur Cattle is the rare breed of Zebu cattle, found only in the state of Kerala and is the smallest cattle breed in the world. The Vechur cattle listed as Critical Maintained Breeds and only 200 cows are supposed to exist today.

Kasaragod Dwarf cattle from Kerala are very famous for their milking ability and listed among the three prime dwarf cattle in India along with Malnad Gidda and Vechur Cattle.

Gaolao, Chhattisgarh/Maharashtra

Gaolao breed of cattle is a dual purpose breed and originated from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh state and known for their large and well built in size.

Kenkatha/Kherigarh, Uttar Pradesh

Kenkatha cow originated from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh along the hilly range of Vindhya and used for different purposes.

Kherigarh is another indigenous breed of cattle in India, originated from Uttar Pradesh and related to Malvi breed of zebu cattle from western Madhya Pradesh.

Nagori, Rajasthan

Nagori cattle breed from Rajasthan are originated in Nagaur district and used for agricultural purposes. The Nagori bovine bulls are bigger than other species of cattle in Rajasthan.

Bargur, Tamil Nadu

Bargur Cattle from Erode District of Tamil Nadu is known for its brown skin with white patches and very aggressive in nature.

Kangayam, Tamil Nadu

Kangayam cattle is an indigenous breed of India and the bull is extensively used in Jallikattu, a traditional sport of Tamil Nadu. The cattle breed is very popular as a draught breed in South India and locally known as Kongu, suitable for agricultural hauling.

Umblachery Cattle breed is native to Tiruvarur districts, mainly used for agricultural work and very much related to the kangayam cattle, Pulikulam cattle is also an indigenous breed of India from Tamil Nadu and is popularly used in Jallikkattu.

Malnad Gidda, Karnataka

Malnad Gidda breed of cattles are found mostly found at densely forested Malenadu region of Karnataka and also hilly area and coastal Karnataka. The cow breed is small and known for their adaptability, found to be of black to brown complexions.

Other well known cow breeds found in India are Nimari and Malvi from Madhya Pradesh, Kenkatha and Kherigarh from Uttar Pradesh,Alambadi cattle from Tamil Nadu,Ponwar cattle from Uttar Pradesh,Dangi cattle from Maharashtra, Umblachery from Tamil Nadu, Amrit Mahal from Karnataka, Bachaur cattle from Bihar and Gangatiri cattle breed from Uttar Pradesh.