From zoo herds to an organized breeding population

The Ankole Watusi International Registry recounts movement of these cattle through European zoos and later American zoos and visitor attractions. As animals became available to private keepers, breeding herds developed outside those institutions.

Interested North American breeders formed the registry in Denver in January 1983. Its account describes different goals among founders, including conservation and several production uses. A breed standard followed in 1989.

The registry describes long, symmetrical horns with a base proportional to their length, alongside a sound body and a range of solid or spotted coats. Large horns are a recognizable feature, but preserving the population involves ancestry and useful animals rather than horn measurements alone. Its historical account concerns the organized Ankole-Watusi population and should not be used as a census of every African cattle population with similarly impressive horns.