A domesticated ox from South and Southeast Asia, bred from wild cattle and used for meat and as a work animal.
From Hindi gayal, derived from Sanskrit gavaya. The animal was domesticated in India and Myanmar centuries ago, and the word followed trade routes into English during the colonial period.
Gayals are fascinating because they're a completely separate domestication from European cattle—people in India and Myanmar independently figured out how to tame wild cattle, showing that humans in different places solved the same problem. They're generally more gentle and easier to handle than regular oxen.
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