Shailendra: Creating Basic Stub W/ Sources

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{{Short description|Indian animal conservationist}}
{{Indian patronymic|Sosamma|Iype}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sosamma Iype
| native_name =
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1941}}
| birth_place = [[Niranam]], [[Thiruvalla]], [[Travancore]], [[British India]]
| death_place =
| death_date =
| alma_mater = Union Christian College, Aluva, Veterinary College, Mannuthy, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana.
| citizenship = India
| occupation = Animal Conservationist
| known_for = Conservation of Vechur Cow
| parents = Kottayil Varghese Iype and Mariamma Iype
| spouse = Late Dr. Abraham Varkey
| children = Dr. Rebecca Varghese, George Abraham
| awards = India Biodiversity Award
| honours = Padma Shri
}}
'''Sosamma Iype''' is an Indian animal conservationist from Niranam, [[Pathanamthitta district]], [[Kerala]]. She was the former Head of the Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding at the [[Kerala Agricultural University|Kerala Veterinary University]] and was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] for the year 2022 by the Government of India for her services to conserve the [[Vechoor cow|Vechur cow, a native breed of cattle]].<ref name="Manorama">{{cite news |title=ശോശാമ്മ ഐപ്പ് ഉയരം കുറഞ്ഞതിനെ തേടി; ഇപ്പോൾ 'ഉയരം' രാജ്യത്തോളം |url=https://www.manoramaonline.com/news/kerala/2022/01/26/dr-sosamma-iype-who-preserves-vechoor-cows-padma-shri.html |work=ManoramaOnline |language=ml}}</ref> She has devoted her life to the conservation of the Vechur cows and is often called "Vechur Amma," literally meaning mother of Vechur cows.<ref name="Manoramanews"/>

==Biography==
Sosamma Iype was born in 1941 at [[Niranam]] village in [[Thiruvalla]] of present-day Pathanamthitta district. She was a Professor and researcher at Kerala Veterinary University (formerly Mannuthy Veterinary College).<ref name="Manoramanews">{{cite news |title=വെച്ചൂർ പശുക്കളുടെ സ്വന്തം വെച്ചൂർ അമ്മ; പത്മശ്രീയിൽ തിളങ്ങി ശോശാമ്മ ഐപ്പ് |url=https://www.manoramanews.com/news/kerala/2022/01/26/dr-sosamma-iype-who-preserves-vechoor-cows-padma-shri.html |work=Manoramanews |language=en}}</ref> Sosamma, who holds a PhD from the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana worked as Head of the Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding at the Kerala Veterinary University.<ref name="Manoramanews"/> She retired from Kerala Veterinary University in 2001 as the Director, Centre for Advanced Studies in Animal Genetics & Breeding.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Daily |first1=Keralakaumudi |title=ലേഖനമെഴുതാൻ അന്വേഷിച്ചു; വെച്ചൂർ പശുവിന്റെ പോറ്റമ്മയായി |url=https://keralakaumudi.com/news/news.php?id=737824&u=sosamma-iype-737824 |work=Keralakaumudi Daily |language=en}}</ref> Despite retiring from official life, Sosamma is still active in the Vechur Conservation Trust, an NGO formed for the conservation of domestic animals and birds of Kerala State.<ref name="Mathrubhumi">{{cite news |last1=സേതുമാധവന്‍ |first1=ഡോ ടി പി |title=കല്ലും മുള്ളും താണ്ടി ഡോ.ശോശാമ്മ ഐപ്പ് തീര്‍ത്ത 'വെച്ചൂര്‍ വിപ്ലവം' |url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/agriculture/features/dr-sosamma-iype-who-preserves-vechoor-cows-padma-shri-1.6391126 |work=Mathrubhumi |language=ml}}</ref>

===Personal life===
She and her husband late Abraham Varkey (Retd. Professor of Surgery, Kerala Veterinary University) have two children Dr. Rebecca Varghese and George C Abraham.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> She now lives in [[Mannuthy]], [[Thrissur district]].<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/>

==Conservation of Vechur Cows==
The [[Vechur Cow]] is a rare breed of [[zebu|''Bos indicus'']] [[cattle]] named after the village [[Vechoor|Vechur]] in [[Kerala]]. Dr. Sosamma Iype with like-minded conservationists in Kerala, started a 30-year conservation project in 1989 to save the endangered Vechoor cows.<ref name="Indian Express">{{cite news |title=Holy Cow Small Packs a Big Punch |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/2014/dec/20/holy-cow-small-packs-a-big-punch-696550.html |work=[[The New Indian Express]]|date= 20 December 2014}}</ref> In the early nineties, Sosamma and her husband, Dr. Abraham Varkey, who was also a veterinarian, traveled for years with a group of young vet graduates to remote villages in the [[Pathanamthitta district|Pathanamthitta]], [[Alappuzha district|Alappuzha]] and [[Kottayam district|Kottayam]] districts in search of pure bred Vechur cows.<ref name="Indian Express"/> The 8 Vechur cows thus obtained were paid for and kept in the stables of the Kerala Veterinary University.<ref name="Manorama"/> Multiple Ovulation and Embryo Transfer (MOET) technique was used for breeding the cows.<ref name=":0" /> By 1998, the number of animals in the unit had increased and about 30 animals had been sold to cattle farmers to set up some field units.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Choubey |first1=Alin |title=Conservation of Vechur Cattle by Dr. Sossama Iype, Kerala – Nature-based solutions |url=http://www.ecosystemsbasedsolutions.in/index.html_p=121.html |language=English}}</ref> At present there are about 7,000 Vechur cows in the state.<ref name="Manoramanews"/> Her interventions are considered by some people to be the second major biodiversity conservation initiative in Kerala after the campaign to protect the environmentally vulnerable [[Silent Valley National Park|Silent Valley]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jan 26 |first1=T. Ramavarman / |title=vechur: Honour For Her Conservation Efforts {{!}} Kochi News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/honour-for-her-conservation-efforts/articleshow/89127078.cms |work=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref>

Opponents of the project have accused that the group is working against government policy by reintroducing an unproductive cattle breed.<ref name="Indian Express"/> When the project was successful, Sosamma was accused of collaborating with the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh to patent the vechur cow's genetic code. Environmentalist [[Vandana Shiva]] had claimed that the Roslin Institute in Scotland obtained a patent for discovering the genetic makeup of Vechoor cows.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> "The patent number is E.P.765390 and the scientists behind the project of Sosamma are behind it" Shiva said.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> The national media and the international journal [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] published it with a great prominence.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> But the investigations on this allegation proved to be false.<ref name="Indian Express"/> The controversy, which began in 1998, took two years to resolve.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> Based on her experiences in conservation of Vechur cows, she has written a book named ''Vechur Pashu: Punarjanmam'' which literally means "Vechur Cow: Rebirth."<ref name="Manorama"/>

==Awards and honors==
*Padma Shri 2022
*India Biodiversity Award 2016 from the [[United Nations Development Programme]] (UNDP), Indian Ministry of Forest, Environment, and Climate Change and National Biodiversity Authority of India.<ref name="IM">{{cite web |title=Sosamma Iype awarded India Biodiversity Award for her conservation work with Vechur cattle |url=https://imalayalee.org/sosamma-iype-awarded-india-biodiversity-award-her-conservation-work-vechur-cattle |website=iMalayalee MultiChannel News Portal |language=en |date=27 May 2016}}</ref>
*Award from the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO)<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in "Others" Category}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sosamma, Iype}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Conservationists]]
[[Category:Indian conservationists]]
[[Category:Animal breeders]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in other fields]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:People from Pathanamthitta district]]
[[Category:Women geneticists]]
[[Category:Indian geneticists]]

Sosamma Iype - Revision history

Shailendra: Creating Basic Stub W/ Sources