Red Maasai sheep emerge as climate-resilient breed with strong potential for genetic improvement, ILRI study finds

KENYA – Indigenous Red Maasai sheep could play a critical role in building climate-resilient livestock systems across East Africa, with new research showing the breed combines superior heat tolerance, parasite resistance, survival rates and reproductive performance with strong potential for genetic improvement.

The findings, published in a new research brief by the CGIAR-led International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), are based on more than two decades of data collected at the Kapiti Research Station in Kenya. 

The study evaluated pure Red Maasai sheep alongside Dorper sheep and various crossbreeds under semi-arid production conditions.

Researchers found that Red Maasai sheep exhibited the highest heritability for growth traits, indicating that improvements achieved through selective breeding can be reliably passed on to future generations. 

The breed also recorded the highest annual genetic gains in body weight, achieving close to 170 grams of additional live weight at nine months of age each year through selection alone.

Heat tolerance and survival advantages

As rising temperatures increasingly challenge livestock production across Africa’s arid and semi-arid lands, the study found that Red Maasai sheep maintained growth better than competing breeds under hotter conditions. 

The breed recorded the highest heat-stress breakpoint, continuing to gain weight until temperatures and humidity reached a Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) of 78.75, after which performance began to decline.

Researchers noted that while first-generation Red Maasai-Dorper crosses showed some hybrid vigour, animals with higher Dorper genetics became increasingly vulnerable to heat stress. 

The 75% Dorper cross experienced the fastest decline in growth performance under elevated temperatures.

The resilience advantages extended beyond heat tolerance. Across more than 6,300 lambs monitored between 2003 and 2022, pure Red Maasai sheep recorded significantly lower post-weaning mortality rates than pure Dorper sheep. 

Only 13% of Red Maasai lambs died before reaching one year of age, compared with 24% among pure Dorpers.

The breed also demonstrated greater longevity, with lower culling rates among breeding females. Researchers found that 43% of Red Maasai ewes were removed before completing a six-year productive life, compared with 67% of pure Dorper ewes.

On reproductive performance, Red Maasai ewes reached maturity earlier than all other breed groups, recording the lowest age at first lambing. 

The breed also achieved the highest genetic gains in litter weaning weight, highlighting its ability to combine resilience with productive performance.

Based on the findings, ILRI researchers recommend conserving pure Red Maasai breeding lines while incorporating resilience traits such as heat tolerance, survival and longevity into future breeding programmes. 

The study suggests that where crossbreeding is used to improve carcass traits, first-generation 50% Red Maasai-Dorper crosses offer the most balanced combination of growth, survival and climate resilience.

The researchers concluded that as climate change intensifies across Africa’s drylands, livestock improvement programmes should move beyond selecting animals solely for growth.

Instead, incorporate measurable resilience traits that allow sheep to survive, reproduce and remain productive under increasingly challenging environmental conditions.

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