Breeding cattle for increased adaptability to tropical and subtropical environments

Abstract

An adapted animal is one in perfect harmony with its environment. Of all the interrelated factors influencing the environment, climate is probably the most important, affecting not only the vegetation and parasitical fauna but likewise the density of human population, its needs and culture.A study of the climatological influence on animals must be comprehensive and include species, breeds and types within breeds, land as well as aquatic animals, both steppe and mountain animals, and existing animals as well as those of historical importance. The climatology with which the animal breeder is concerned aims at establishing the influence of climate, with its constantly recurring phases, upon the animal (in this case the bovine). The reaction of any animal to a particular external environmental stimulus is closely correlated with the animal's efficiency of production.