Veterinary World (Jan 2009)
Mithun : The pride animal of north-eastern hilly region of India
Abstract
Mithun, the pride animal called as ‘Cattle of Hilly Region’ of north-eastern hilly region of India and tropical rain forest of China. The animal plays an important role in the day to day socio-economic life of the local tribal population. Mithun (Bos frontalis) is a rear species of livestock and is found in the north-eastern region of our country like Arunachal Pradesh (75 per cent of the total population), Nagaland (60 per cent), Manipur (0.8 per cent) andMizoram (0.1 per cent) having total population 0.25 million according to census 2003 and also very meager in Myanmar, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. The animal has got good potential for production of quality meat, milk and leather. Mithun is the ‘Cattle of Hilly Region’ and is one of the domesticated animals from the North-eastern hilly region and mainly found in tropical rain forest of North-eastern hilly region. Very meager population is found inMyanmar, Bhutan and China. There are four defined mithun strains depending up on the geographical areas namely Arunachal, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram strains, respectively. [Vet World 2009; 2(12.000): 480-481]
