A large, long living gayal-domestic cow hybrid breed has grown well following two years of research, according to the Lam Dong Department of Science and Technology.

A gayal in Ninh Thuan province. Ninh Thuan and its neighbouring province of Lam Dong carried out a joint research on the use of gayal genes.

The new breed of 20 calves has been nurtured since 2009 when a gayal living in the Phuoc Binh National Park frequently mated with local residents’ cows.

Given the rarity of the new breed, Ninh Thuan and Lam Dong provinces in the country’s south central coastal region decided to carry out research on the breed at a cost of 2 billion VND (88,000 USD).

With assistance from the Institute of Bio-technology in Hanoi and the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute, the result of analysis of chromosomes and genes showed the hybrids to be the F1 breed between a gayal and a domestic cow.

The research team also worked on the use of the F1 breed in producing the F2 breed and later generations to have herds of disease-resistant cows.

VNA