Gyr (Gur, Gir)

The Gyr is a medium to medium large animal, depending on whether they were developed in the Gyr valley region or in the surrounding mountain area. They can be either spotted (very fine spotting similar to roan in shorthorn) or rich red with varying degrees of the two combined.

The undercoat is always red even on cattle that may almost appear white. The Gyr are extremely intelligent and very willing cattle to work with. Theit hair is coated with an oil that is secreted by the skin that is a natural insect repellent. Another feature of zebu cattle is the extra layer of muscle tissue just under the skin (like in horses) which enables them to shake their skin to remove or discourage parasites.

The Gyr are very social cattle and spend a lot of time licking, touching and leaning on each other. The bulls tend to protect the herd and the whole herd protects the calves. The cows seem to rotate being nurse maids and a large number of the calves stay together with them, but as soon as there is a disturbance the whole herd will gallop back to protect them.