Socio-economics and genetic diversity of the Kouri cattle breed in Niger

The endemic Kouri cattle breed represents a unique case of adaptation to the particular environment of Lake Chad. A cross-sectional survey, based on a semi-structured questionnaire, was administered in the form of individual interviews and focus groups to 155 herders in the Diffa Region to determine the social characteristics of the Kouri cattle breed. From a morpho-biometric point of view, a total of 406 adult cows and 34 bulls, all of Kouri breed, were evaluated for 16 quantitative and 11 qualitative body traits. These data were jointly analyzed with 377 individuals belonging to 4 West African bull breeds: N'Dama from Mali, Lagunaire from Benin, Lobi from Burkina Faso and Somba from Benin. The study of genetic diversity concerned 105 individuals belonging to 3 cattle breeds from Niger: Arab Zebu, Bororo Zebu and Kouri bullfighters. Genotyping was done with 27 minisatellite markers recommended by the FAO for the study of animal breed diversity. The Kouri cattle breed is a unique population within the group of West African bull breeds