Abstract
Cattle and other domestic animals in 5.77 square miles of rural West Bengal were enumerated on three separate occasions during an 18-month period. Feed consumption and productivity measurements involving 80 cattle-day observations were extrapolated to the entire cattle population and an energetic balance sheet was calculated for a 1-year period. The cattle population appears fairly stable despite a high density. The age distribution reveals a demographic imbalance in both the younger and older age groups which contributes toward a more efficient utilization of available feed supplies. One of the major roles of the cattle is to convert items of little human value into products of direct human utility. The gross energetic efficiency of the entire cattle population was approximately 17%. The current management of cattle appears to be appropriate for the ecological framework in which they exist.
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This research was supported by NIH grant 5RO-TW00141-09 to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Medical Research and Training, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
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Odend'hal, S. Energetics of Indian cattle in their environment. Hum Ecol 1, 3–22 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01791278
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01791278