The Jonangi, also known as Jonangi Jagilam or Kolleti Jagilam is an Indian dog

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

, mostly found in the separated state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, some parts of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, and all along the east coast from

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. It was once abundantly found in and around Kolleru Lake in

West Godavari The West Godavari district is a coastal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with an administrative headquarters in Bhimavaram. As of the 2011 Census of India, the district has an area of and a population of 1,779,935. It is bounded ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

Districts of Andhra Pradesh. This dog has very short, smooth hair. It is used as a hunting and herding dog by people who have this breed. The Jonangi is not recognized by major kennel clubs in India, but this breed is locally shown at beach festivals in

Temperament

The Jonangi is a one-person or one-family dog. It is an agile dog, with long strides that can cover very large distances. While a few dogs exhibit nervousness, most Jonangis make excellent working partners, guarding large farms and even houses. They are known to coexist with farm animals such as

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

, goats, sheep and cattle. Jonangis are known for digging decently sized ditches to lay in the dirt. If properly socialized as puppies and trained with positive reinforcement, Jonangis grow up into confident adults. They can make excellent family companions and do well with children.

Breeding

Females come into heat every six months, depending on their health. Typical litter size is 3–5 puppies. Jonangi dams are excellent mothers and take good care of their pups. Their fertility rate is in line with other Indian dog breeds

Use

Jonangi are used for hunting small game, as a watchdog, and for herding ducks.

Near-extinction

The Jonangi was once commonly found around Kolleru Lake helping local duck farmers to herd their ducks. Farmers around Kolleru have turned towards more profitable aquaculture and the Jonangi that once helped them herd ducks no longer have a working function, and have been left in a semi-feral state to survive for themselves. The Jonangi has developed unique fishing techniques for its survival, and is now considered a pest by local farmers, who went on killing these dogs to near-extinction. Jonangi_worked_out

Breed revival

Once found around the entire coastal region of India, this breed is now found mostly in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Goa. Lately major Asil chicken breeders and farm owners in Andhra Pradesh are interested in keeping this breed to protect their asil birds and livestock from predators. Jonangi from Konkan Coast

References

{{Indian dogs Dog breeds originating in India

Temperament

Breeding

Use

Near-extinction

Breed revival

See also

References