2024-03-20 17:37:41
The Prime Minister of Thailand, Sarta Thavisin, took the bull by the horns today (Wednesday) when he welcomed an unusual guest to his offices – a huge white buffalo that was recently sold for $500,000. The clumsy bull, named Ko Muang Pat, has long been known in Thai farming circles as an impressive herd, but came into the public eye last week when he sold for an impressive price, earning a trip to Government House to meet Sarata.
At 1.8 meters tall, the four-year-old albino buffalo from western Patchbury County weighs 1.4 tonnes – almost three times the average buffalo. Ko Muang Pat has already become a TV star, when he participated in an episode of the most popular soap opera “Sound From The Field Of Love”.
The buffalo and the prime minister in front of the government building. Photo: EPA/ROYAL THAI GOVERNMENT
Sarata – who stands no less than 1.92 meters tall – literally came face to face with the horned celebrity in front of the government. “I had no idea we had such a beautiful buffalo,” Serta told reporters around him, carefully patting one of the creature’s huge, curved horns.
Water buffalo are ubiquitous in rural Thailand and are prized as sturdy and reliable farm animals, with albinos being particularly valuable due to their rarity. Big bulls are a lucrative business – last year a farmer in northern Pitsanolook County reportedly sold his 1.4 ton bull for more than $1.45 million.
The buffalo in front of the government building. Photo: Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Sarata said the Thai Buffalo Breeding Association had asked the government to promote animal breeding as a tool of “soft power”. The happy owner of Ko Muang Pat, was all for the idea. “I want people to get to know the buffalo more. Thais used to be close to agriculture and buffaloes, but our lifestyle today has distanced us,” he told reporters at the Prime Minister’s House.
He has pledged to bring four giant buffaloes to meet tourists in Bangkok’s backpacker hub of Khao Sun Road next month, in honor of Songkran – the Thai New Year festival where thousands of revelers drench each other in the streets in a mass water fight.
The buffalo in front of the government building. Photo: Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
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