Hybrid gayals a source of precious genes for cow breeding in Vietnam

About 20 hybrid gayals, the offspring of male gayals and tamed cows raised on farms, have been born in the last three years in villages surrounding Phuoc Binh National Park in Bac Ai District of the south-central province of Ninh Thuan.

The hybrids have displayed dominant characteristics including their large size and resistance to diseases. These features are useful for animal husbandry in Vietnam.

A hybrid animal of the first generation is normally three times bigger than a farm cow.

The hybrid gayal weighs 500-600kg by the time it reaches the age of three.

A natural match

Upon seeing strangers arriving at a farm outside Phuoc Binh park, a herd of black cows stopped grazing and looked up, flaring their nostrils – an action common among gayals to ‘welcome challengers’ entering their domain.

These ‘cows’ are actually hybrid gayals – the first generation of the offspring of male gayals and farm cows.

The hybrids display many characteristics of a wild gayal, including dark fur on the back and body, white on their legs from the knees down, a lack of a hump on their back, an aggressive attitude, and long, curved horns.

The dominant trait of a hybrid is that they weigh three times more than a normal cow. A wild gayal can weigh more than 1,000kg.

Since 2010, wild gayals have been present along the banks of To Hap Stream outside Phuoc Binh park, where farms have long existed.

The ‘love story’ between gayals and cows started with the killing of the biggest male ox at the farms.

On the first evening a wild gayal arrived at the farms in Bac Ai's Phuoc Binh Commune, he directly challenged the ox and butted him to death immediately.

From then on, dozens of farm cows grazing at the edge of the forest ‘belonged’ to the wild gayal as no other farm ox dared to challenge him.

Now, over 20 hybrids have been born there, creating a source of new and precious genes for local cow breeding.

The management of Phuoc Binh National Park have finished building a separate farm worth VND1 billion (US$48,000) for the hybrids to “keep a valuable gift donated by Nature,” according to Nguyen Cong Van, the park director.

Keeping the gayal’s wild characteristics in their blood, the hybrids are much more active and aggressive than farm cows.

The biggest hybrid of the herd weighs 600kg, three times more than a normal cow, though it is less than three years old, said Pham Ngoc Hoan, head of the technical department at Phuoc Binh.

The hybrids’ fur will become darker as it ages, according to Hoan. They also have no hump on their back, he said.

A young hybrid is now sold for VND40-70 million ($1,900-3,400), Van said, adding that the price is also three times more expensive than that of a normal cow.

Now, the departments of science and technology of Ninh Thuan and the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong are working together to study the DNA and chromosomes of the hybrids, hoping to create a new generation of higher-quality cows in the future, Van added.

All of the hybrid gayals have the 2n=58 chromosome, which is different from the wild gayal's 2n=56 chromosome, and the farm cow's 2n=60, he elaborated.

There is a plan to cross breed the hybrid gayals with other breeds of cows at Phuoc Binh.

The cross breeding will create a new breed of cow featuring the important characteristics of gayals such as their large size and resistance to diseases, he said.

“If this project is successful, it will be the first time in the world a cross breed has been created with wild gayals, which will also offer a chance to preserve the precious genes of the gayal,” said Van.

Becoming millionaires thanks to the hybrid gayal

Many ethnic minority families in Pac Ray 2 Village in Phuoc Binh Commune of Bac Ai District have become millionaires since their cows bore hybrid gayals.

Nguyen Van Chuan, a farmer, earned VND500 million ($24,000) after selling 12 young hybrid gayals – children of their cows who have ‘matched’ with wild gayals in recent years.

“Initially I was worried because my cow had its back legs broken while mating with wild gayals. But it is a gift from the Gods anyway,” Chuan said.

Another farmer, Chammale Hoa, sold four hybrid gayals for VND200 million ($9,600).

Pac Ray 2 village now has around 20 hybrids.

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