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An albino buffalo in Bangladesh that captured the internet's attention for its striking resemblance to U.S. President Donald Trump has been pulled from the Eid al-Adha sacrifice list and handed over to the country's national zoo, following a government intervention that came just hours before the animal was due to be slaughtered.
The nearly 700-kilogram (1,500-pound) bull had been raised at a farm on the outskirts of Dhaka, where it drew attention not for its size but for an unusual tuft of pale blond hair on its forehead—a look that prompted the farmer's younger brother to give it the nickname "Trump."
In a country where albinism is rare among buffaloes, which are typically dark-skinned, the animal stood out from the moment it arrived at the farm.
Word spread quickly. Crowds gathered daily to photograph the animal, and videos of the buffalo circulated widely across social media platforms and were picked up by international news outlets.
By the time Eid al-Adha arrived, the buffalo had become one of Bangladesh's most-discussed animals, drawing visitors from across the country eager to see it in person.
Farm owner Ziauddin Mridha described the animal as calm and gentle and confirmed that his younger brother came up with the name, citing the buffalo's "extraordinary hair" as the reason.
Mridha said the farm had seen a near-constant flow of visitors—social media users, curious onlookers and children—in the weeks leading up to the holiday.
Despite the attention, Mridha sold the buffalo ahead of Eid al-Adha. The buyer intended to slaughter it as part of the ritual sacrifice that marks the holiday, observed across Muslim-majority Bangladesh, a South Asian nation of 170 million people.
Eid al-Adha, known as the "feast of the sacrifice," involves the slaughter of livestock as an act of worship, with meat distributed among family, neighbors and those in need.
Over 12 million animals—including goats, sheep, cows and buffaloes—are expected to be sacrificed during the holiday, which provides many lower-income families with a rare opportunity to eat meat.
The buffalo's fate changed after local broadcaster Channel 24 reported that the Home Ministry had intervened, ordering authorities to halt the slaughter.
Police moved quickly to retrieve the animal from its new owner and transfer it to the Keraniganj Police Station in Dhaka.
Mohammad Ruhul Quddus, officer-in-charge of the station, confirmed the intervention toAgence France-Presse (AFP). "The livestock department requested us to take the buffalo from the owner as it is a rare animal," he said, adding that officials noted the animal was still young and could be raised for several more years.
The National Zoo in Dhaka has since taken custody of the buffalo. Curator Atiqur Rahman told AFP that preparations were made ahead of the animal's arrival.
"We have designated a shed for the albino buffalo and assigned a caregiver," Rahman said. "He will be quarantined for two weeks."
The buffalo's story is part of a broader cultural pattern in Bangladesh's Eid cattle market, where animals with unusual appearances or celebrity-inspired names have increasingly attracted public attention and media coverage in recent years.
The "Trump" buffalo, however, appears to have reached a scale of virality that prompted an unusually direct government response—one that ultimately spared the animal from the fate shared by millions of others across the country that week.
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