Kuri Cattle among Lake Chad's Reed Islands

Kuri Cattle among Lake Chad's Reed Islands is an original illustration set in Southern Lake Chad. It lies in the tropics, where the climate is hot semi-arid steppe.

White cattle wade belly-deep through shallow blue-green water between reed islands, their enormous pale horns swelling into unmistakable bulbous forms. Fishers use a narrow canoe nearby, while exposed cracked lakebed and a receded shoreline appear beyond the wet channels.

Why do these cattle have enormous bulbous horns and wade between reed islands?

Kuri cattle have long been kept by island and shore communities around Lake Chad and are unusually adapted to a semi-aquatic life, including strong swimming and feeding on water plants. Their massive-looking horns are exceptionally light, and the breed is closely tied to shifting marshes and islands. Reeds, shallow channels, retreating lakebed, and those singular horns locate this pastoral landscape almost uniquely.

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