Nelore orNellorecattle originated fromOngole Cattle (Bos indicus) cattle originally brought toBrazil fromIndia. They are named after the district ofNellore inAndhra Pradesh state inIndia.Ongole taluk was part of Nellore district when they were first exported abroad. The Nelore has a distinct large hump over the top of the shoulder and neck. They have long legs which help them to walk in water and when grazing. The Nelore can adapt to all except very cold climates. They are very resistant to high temperatures and have natural resistance to various parasites and diseases. Brazil is the largest breeder of Nelore. Nelore have the shortest ears of mostBos indicus types. There is a naturallypolled strain of the breed.
The first pair ofOngole Cattle arrived in Brazil by ship in 1868, at Salvador, Bahia. Manoel Ubelhart Lemgruber, from Rio de Janeiro Zoo, bought two more fromHamburg Zoo in 1878. The most recent importations fromIndia were of one hundred animals in the 1960s. The Nelore herd book was founded in 1975.
In the first decades of twentieth century, the favored breed ofzebu inBrazil was the Indubrasil orIndo-Brazilian, but from the 1960s onwards, Nelore became the primary breed ofcattle in Brazil because of its hardiness, heat-resistance, and because it thrives on poor-quality forage and breeds easily, with the calves rarely requiring human intervention to survive. Currently more than 80% ofbeef cattle in Brazil (approximately 167,000,000 animals) are either purebred or hybrid Nelore,[1] making them the majority breed in Brazil. Bulls of this breed have been exported to many other countries in the Western Hemisphere, such asUnited States andVenezuela in the last decades.
The vast majority of Nelores created today comes from lineages that entered Brazil fromIndia in the 1950s and 60's. These lineages are:Karvardi, Taj Mahal, Golias, Godhavari, Rastan, Akasamu and Padhu(4).
