Nagauri cattle, Tharparkar cattle and the dromedary are examples of threatened species in Rajasthan, India. The Raika (a traditional camel-raising group) and other livestock keepers have extensive indigenous knowledge and practices that they have used to create and maintain these and other breeds. These practices are mostly invisible to outsiders. Government attempts to upgrade teh livestock have focused on crossbreeding and have been unsuccessful. It is precisely the reluctance of the Raika and other breeders to give up the old waysthat has conserved what is left of Rajasthan’s indigenous animal genetic resources.
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