Bangladesh spares albino buffalo nicknamed Donald Trump from Eid sacrifice

A rare albino buffalo with a blond tuft and a calm stare slipped out of an ordinary Eid market and into the middle of a national uproar, then survived the ritual slaughter that had already been arranged for it. The nearly 700-kilogram animal, nicknamed Donald Trump because of its unusual hair by the farm owner’s younger brother, was spared after a last-minute government intervention that turned a private religious purchase into a security concern.

The buffalo had been raised at Rabeya Agro Farm in Paikpara, Narayanganj, just outside Dhaka, and had become an online sensation after videos spread across social media. Daily crowds began arriving to see the animal, and visitors traveled from other districts to view its blond fringe and unusually placid temperament. Reuters photos showed the buffalo at the farm on May 17, May 18 and May 20, 2026, as interest mounted ahead of Eid al-Adha.

Officials moved on May 27, a day before Eid al-Adha on May 28, after crowds had started gathering at the farm. A Home Ministry official said the decision was made at the last moment because the level of public attention had become unusually high. Salahuddin Ahmed, Bangladesh’s home minister, ordered that the buyer be refunded and that the buffalo be transferred to the National Zoo in Dhaka rather than sacrificed. Police and ministry officials said the animal’s sudden fame had created crowd-control concerns at a time when Bangladesh was already in the middle of a seven-day Eid holiday from May 25 to May 31.

The buffalo’s fate has now shifted from rural farm life to official custody. Later reporting said it was taken into state care and would be kept at the National Zoo, where a special shed and caregiver were arranged and a two-week quarantine was planned before it joined the facility. Mohammad Ruhul Quddus, a police official, said authorities believed the buffalo was still young and could live for several more years, a judgment that helped justify preservation over slaughter.

The episode captured a larger collision between local custom, internet fame and celebrity branding. What began as a routine Eid purchase at a farm in Narayanganj became a case study in how viral attention can override the normal rhythm of a religious holiday, forcing the state to step in when an animal’s online fame proved more powerful than the market that had already bought it.