New lease of life for 'Periyar cow' facing extinction threat

They conducted interviews with our students and local people.

An indigenous lesser known population of short cattle facing the threat of extinction in a Kerala forest region are being pulled back from the brink, thanks to conservation efforts by a group of passionate cattle rearing farmers living on the banks of the famous River Periyar here.

Conservationists say thriving of the neglected Periyar cow, locally known as ''Periyar Kullan'' (Periyar dwarf), which produces tasty and nutritious milk with medicinal value, is certain as the Kerala State Livestock Development Board decided to adopt its pair of bulls for semen collection, giving them a chance to bring back older breeds, whose genetic stock was not easily available.

Jose James, Managing Director of KLD Board, said the bulls, aged three and four years, were identified for semen collection.

They were selected after conducting detailed examinations at the Centre for Advanced Livestock Genomics (CALG) and State Institute for Animal Diseases under the state government.

The bulls, selected from the farm of conservationist Cose Kurien, hailing from Kodanad village in Ernakulam district, will be adopted on Friday, sources said.

They will be returned to the farm after collecting 5,000 doses of semen from them.

James said the project envisages the production of 1,000 pure dwarfs in two years.

Dr. C K Shaju, a subject expert on Animal Husbandry, Kerala Biodiversity Board, said semen collected from bulls can be preserved for many years.

Kurien, who initiated steps for the conservation of Periyar cows four years ago, said the indigenous cattle are found along with villages close to forest regions on the banks of the River Periyar like Kodanad, Kuttampuzha, Malayattoor, Kalady, Panamkuzhi, Panel, and Ayyampuzha.

A custodian farmer rearing over a hundred such cows now, Kurian said he took up the initiative for its conservation in 2017, inspired by a report prepared by a group of students studying in the school owned by him in Kodanad village.

He said initially a collective of farmers interested in rearing Periyar cows was formed.

The cattle bore different names associated with places like 'Kuttampuzha dwarf' and 'Ayyampuzha dwarf.' It was the famous veterinarian Dr. Jayadevan Namboodiri, who had contributed enormously towards the conservation of the famous ''Vechur Cattle'', who gave the lessons for conservation of the Periyar cow, organizing a seminar a few years ago, Kurien recalled.

Namboodiri had done an enormous study on Periyar cows, but his vision for their classification materialized after Kurien and other custodian farmers took it as a mission in 2017.

Talking to P T I, Namboodiri said Periyar cows could not be called as a ''breed'' as it is a lesser-known population.

Kurien said a detailed study is being conducted by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) in Karnal for conservation of the lesser-known population of Kerala cattle based on a project submitted by Namboodiri.

Kurien, a gene savior award winner, and manager of Mar Augen High School, Kodandad, said scientists from NBAGR, which is under the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), visited his village Kodanad in 2019 to study the characteristics of the Periyar cows.

''To undertake the study of indigenous varieties of cows, the scientists, led by Dr. Anil Kumar Mishra and Dr. K N Raja, traveled through various forest areas and collected blood samples for research. They conducted interviews with our students and local people. Again during November 2019 they visited and collected blood samples for further studies,'' Kurien told P T I.

Namboodiri, Deputy Director of the state Animal Husbandry Department, said a regular follow-up is being done for getting the Periyar cows to get the recognition of a cattle breed.

''After the scientific study, we hope that there will be an eventual recognition of the Periyar breed of cattle, which will be the second breed in Kerala, after the famous ''Vechur Cattle'', he said.

Namboodiri hailed the conservation efforts by Kurien.

He said cattle having a height of 95 to 100 cm have got a very good characteristic, with a short sturdy body.

Namboodiri said the heat-tolerant Periyar cows can survive the adverse effects of climate change. It also has the ability to resist all diseases, he said.

Dr. Shaju said cow-based agriculture in agrobiodiversity is very much necessary to help the farmers.

He also suggested that farm schools be organized from custodian farmers with the object of propagation of ecological importance to the next generation.