Cattle of Ages, by Cyril Ramaphosa (text) and Daniel Naudé (photography), has been released.
For our overseas readers, Cyril Ramaphosa has a trade union background, and was Mandela’s right-hand man during the negotiations which allowed for a peaceful transition of political power to the African National Congress (ANC) in 1994.
He was also Mandela’s choice to succeed him as president of the country but this was not to be, and Ramaphosa disappeared (mostly) from the public eye during which time he became a successful businessman. He returned to the political arena at the last general elections in 2014, and is the current South African deputy president.
Of interest to us here is that Ramaphosa was instrumental in the introduction of Ankole cattle to this country. This was not a straight-forward process owing to biosecurity rules, and how the cattle came from Uganda via Embryo Plus’ quarantine station in Kenya is set out in “Ankole Longhorn: Cyril Ramaphosa’s passion andpride“, an article by Gerhard Uys in Farmer’s Weekly (2017, August 22).
Ramaphosa farms with game and Ankole, Boran and Bonsmara cattle near eManzana in Mpumalanga. The Uys article looks at the animal husbandry involved when it comes to animal health, breeding and nutrition.
As is the case for other breeds indigenous to Africa, the Ankole offers several advantages to the cattle farmer, among which is greater resistance to ticks. The breed with its horn size is a draw card for tourism, as can be imagined! Its meat is low in cholesterol, and high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids (Uys, 2017).
Naudé has quite a resume of photographing animals and nature. Other publications of his include Sightings of the Sacred and Animal Farm. Find his website at http://www.danielnaude.com.
Cattle of Ages falls in the genre “Photography”. Going through its pages means you don’t mind how long you are kept waiting, and you’ll be sorry when you are called for the interview! We trust Cattle of Ages will take a favoured place among collectors’ items. For information and sales enquiries, call +27 011 628 3200 or write to sales [at] jacana.co.za
Photographs used courtesy of Daniel Naudé.
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