N’Dama
(most common name)
(transboundary/brand name)
(local/other name):
• Boenca (Guinea-Bissau)
• Boyenca (Guinea-Bissau)
• Fouta Djallon (Guinea)
• Fouta Jallon (Guinea)
• Fouta Longhorn (Guinea)
• Fouta Malinke (Guinea)
• Futa (Guinea)
• Malinke (Guinea)
• Mandingo (Liberia)
• Okuma (Gabon)
• Outa Malinke (Guinea)
local/other name (French):
• N’Dama Petite (Senegal)
The N’Dama is a humpless (taurine) longhorn that arrived in West Africa from the Middle East somewhere between 5000–2350 B.C. and are genetically close to the Kuri.
The N’Dama initially flourished in the Fouta Djallon highland region in the centre of Guinea and was possibly named after the town of N’Déma (in the Dabola Prefecture in the Faranah Region).
The N’Dama is trypanotolerant and used for many different crosses in West Africa, especially with zebus. Trypanotolerant cattle have a natural ability to resist the effects of any bovine trypanosomosis disease, especially those carried by the tsetse fly. Trypanosomosis (trih-PAH-noh-soh-MOH-sihs) is any tropical disease caused by trypanosomes (single-celled parasitic protozoans) — usually transmitted by biting insects.
The N’Dama is also very hardy and adapts well to humid climate conditions. Although used mainly for meat or milk, in DR Congo they are said to provide a leather of excellent quality called ‘vachette de guinée’ (‘cowhide of Guinea’).
The N’Dama is found in 20 West African countries:
• 20 countries list N’Dama as the most common name
• 17 countries list N’Dama as the transboundary/brand name
• 13 countries list the same 4 breed local names - Boyenca, Fouta Djallon, Futa, Fouta Longhorn
• 13 countries identify the N’Dama as a West African Small Humpless Longhorn
• 19 countries import N’Dama
Listed locations within countries include:
• Angola - Cabinda province; small nuclei also raised in the northern provinces
• Cameroon - mainly in the palm plantations in the Littoral and south provinces
• Côte d’Ivoire - northwest and center
• Ghana - mostly in the northern and western regions
• Guinea - 40% in Fouta Djallon, 34% in high Guinea, 18 % in maritime Guinea, 8% in forest area
• Mali - Yanfolila, Kenieba and south of Kita
• Nigeria - southwest (Fashola and Ado Ekiti) and southeast (Adadama)
• Senegal - south and southeast
Population counts since 2000 include:
• Côte d’Ivoire (2001) - 198,996
• Guinea (2005) - 3,756,353
• Togo (2008) - 200–300
• Senegal (2012) - 733,422 – 850,000
Varieties of N’Dama and stabilized/fixed N’Dama crosses include:
• Bambara
• Djakoré
• Gambian N’Dama
• N’Dama Grande
• N’Dama of Kaarta
• Guinean N’Dama
• N’Dama × Jersey
• N’Gabou
• Thomton (Boenca)
This page was last updated on: 2023-08-09
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