Zoo Curator Fired After Comparing 1,500-Pound Animal to Trump
The massive animal’s exhibit initially featured a sign reading “Donald Trump” before it was taken down.
Photo Illustration by Victoria Sunday/The Daily Beast/Getty Images
A zoo curator has been fired after a 1,500-pound Albino buffalo was billed as “Donald Trump” at his enclosure.
The buffalo became a viral sensation in Bangladesh after a farmer noticed his tuft of blond, seemingly slicked-back hair resembled the U.S. president’s unmistakable combover, sparking crowds to flock to the farm outside Dhaka, the Associated Press reports.
Originally destined for slaughter for the Muslim festival of sacrifice Eid al-Adha, the Bangladeshi government instead ordered the buffalo to be moved to the national zoo in the capital, “due to security concerns and the unusual level of public interest.”
“There is a resemblance to Donald Trump in its eyes, hairstyle, and skin color,” Mohammed Nasim, a student in Dhaka, told the AP.
Mohammad Ponir Hossain/REUTERS
The buffalo’s exhibit initially featured a sign reading “Donald Trump,” local media reported, according to the AP.
The sign has since been removed, and the zoo curator was fired on Saturday, though officials have not said why.
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Visitors keep pouring into the zoo, however, eager to see the horned bovine’s resemblance to the perpetually news-making Trump with their own eyes.
The albino buffalo was slated for slaughter, but his resemblance to the president appears to have saved his life.
Mohammad Ponir Hossain/REUTERS
Some say the similarities between the buffalo and Trump, 79, aren’t just cosmetic.
“There is a resemblance to Donald Trump in its eyes, hairstyle, and skin color,” Mohammed Nasim, a student in Dhaka, told the AP. “And just as Donald Trump has a distinctive personality and lifestyle, this buffalo, after going viral, is now living a similar kind of life, enjoying a lot of attention and special treatment.”
A number of animals have been compared to or named after Trump over the years. In 2018, a newly discovered blind amphibian that buries its head in the sand was named “Dermophis donaldtrumpi” in reference to the president’s climate change denial.
Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS
Another visitor, however, took issue with the name, calling it “disrespectful.”
“Giving a farm animal the name of one of the world’s most influential leaders was certainly the wrong thing to do,” Dhaka resident Mohammad Joynal Adedin told the AP. “It seems disrespectful. I think the farmer who did this made a poor decision.”
One visitor said he had seen posts on Facebook that “Donald Trump” would be sacrificed, before hearing that the buffalo had been spared and coming to the zoo.
Mohammad Ponir Hossain/REUTERS
Ziauddin Mridha, the farm owner under whose care the buffalo became a viral sensation, previously said he bought the animal at a cattle market roughly 10 months ago and that his brother gave him his name.
“My younger brother named the buffalo Donald Trump because the hair on the front of its head resembles Donald Trump,” he told Reuters.
“Despite its striking appearance, it is very calm by nature. It is an albino buffalo, and animals of this type are generally gentle and do not become aggressive unless provoked,” he added.
The government refunded Mridha after the buffalo was transferred to the zoo.
One visitor said he had seen posts on Facebook that “Donald Trump” would be sacrificed, before hearing that the buffalo—who is said to have a gentle temperament—had been spared.
A number of animals have been compared to or named after Trump over the years.
In 2017, a newly discovered moth was named Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, and in 2018, a newly discovered blind amphibian that buries its head in the sand was named Dermophis donaldtrumpi in reference to the president’s climate change denial.
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