The Kanni (கன்னி), meaning pure (also known as the Maiden's Beastmaster), is a rare

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

South Indian South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

sighthound Sighthounds (also called gazehounds) are a Dog type, type of hound dog that hunts primarily by sight and speed, unlike scent hound, scent hounds, which rely on scent and endurance. Appearance These dogs specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it ...

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 ...

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

found in the state of

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 ...

. Their native breeding tract is located around villages in the Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar and

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...

districts. The breed is used mainly for

coursing Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, ...

. "Kanni" refers to the black and tan and black and sable varieties, while the solid-coloured variety is known as the Chippiparai. However, some experts claim that the Kanni and the Chippiparai are distinct breeds.

History

In the beginning, Kanni dogs existed only in several pockets of Southern

Tamilnadu 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 ...

, especially in Southern districts such as the northernmost part of

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

Tuticorin Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the district. ...

, and the southern part of

Virudhunagar Virudhunagar is a city and the administrative headquarter of the Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located southwest of the state capital Chennai and south of Madurai. Virudhunagar emerged as an important trade c ...

Name

The name Kanni means "pure" in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and was given to this breed for its loyalty – purity of heart. The Kanni is also known as the Maiden's Beastmaster for how voraciously it defends its territory against wild animals, and because they are often gifted to newlywed brides as their guardians. Although Kannis come in different colours, generally only the ones that were black and tan were given as marriage gifts. This practice led to the wrong naming of the black and tan coloured breeds as Kanni in dogs as well as goats. Even though the native people call this breed Kanni, the Kennel Club of India (KCI) registered it with two names. It registered the black and tan coloured dogs as Kanni and the solid-coloured variety as Chippiparai, respectively.

Characteristics

Kannis are medium-sized dogs, with straight top lines and tucked-up abdomens. Height at the withers is and weight ranges from . They have straight heads, strong jaws, golden eyes and black noses. The ears are medium-sized and flat, and can be erect, dropping or semi dropping. The tail is semi curved. Kannis have a lifespan of 14 to 16 years.

Colour types

Kannis have short coats, which can be brown with black,

fawn A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family (biology), family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, a ...

(Santhana Pillai), light red (Sevalai) to dark red (Karum Sevalai), cream, white (Mayila Pillai), red with white, or pale grey (Sambal). Other colours include black with fawn markings (Paal Kanni), black with dark tan markings (Seng Kanni), black with fawn face and legs (Karung Kanni), fawn head and legs with rest of body being black (Parukki), and brown and white (Semmarai).

Temperament

The Kanni is usually shy, but will always defend its home or master if the need arises. The Kanni dogs are extremely faithful and easy to train, but they will think independently when on a hunt. They are very loyal to their family.

Hunting

Kannis are specially bred and used for hunting

Indian hare The Indian hare (''Lepus nigricollis''), also known as the black-naped hare, is a common species of hare native to the Indian subcontinent, and Java. Its habitat in Java is in rocky highlands. Description The Indian hare is of medium size compar ...

s. Like other hounds, Kannis use their speed and endurance to hunt their prey. They use their excellent sense of smell and sight to track and hunt their prey. Kannis are trained to obey subtle hand signals of their masters while on the hunt. Kanni dogs have been known to hit speeds up to 60 km/h. The key to the Kanni's ability as a coursing dog can be found in its light but muscular build, large heart,

double suspension gallop The gait of a dog is its quality of movement. It is given a great deal of importance in the breed standard of some breeds, of lesser importance in other standards, and in some breeds gait is not described in the standard at all. A dog's gait is si ...

, and extreme flexibility of its spine, similar to that of

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

Habitat and food habits

Kannis live in a temperate climate zone. They need free space and their own territory, and are not suited to city life. Kannis eat

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

, corn,

jowar ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the grass genus ''Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain is used as food by humans, ...

, rice porridge with milk or curd, and non-vegetable foods.

Gallery

File:Kanni 1a 05.jpg, Kanni Dog in Thrissur Kerala File:Kanni 1a 13.jpg, Kanni Dog in Thrissur Kerala File:Kanni 1a 23.jpg, Kanni Dog in Thrissur Kerala File:Kanni 1a 30.jpg, Kanni Dog in Thrissur Kerala File:Kanni 1a 25.jpg, Kanni Dog in Thrissur Kerala File:Kanni 1a 16.jpg, Kanni Dog in Thrissur Kerala File:Kanni 1a 32.jpg, Kanni Dog in Thrissur Kerala File:Kanni 1a 19.jpg, Kanni Dog in Thrissur Kerala File:Kanni 1a 06.jpg, Kanni Dog in Thrissur Kerala File:Kanni 1a 08.jpg, Kanni Dog in Thrissur Kerala

References

{{hounds Dog breeds originating in India Rare dog breeds