A pair of pink buffaloes has caught the eye of sacrificial animal buyers in Ishwardi, Pabna. The two are at Zakir Dairy Farm next to the Aronkola cattle market in the municipality. Buyers are coming from far away to purchase them, and many others are crowding the farm just to see them.

Pink buffaloes are rare in the country and not often seen. Farms in Ishwardi have been rearing them for four or five years. In past years pink buffaloes were raised at Aronkola Mama Krishi Farm, Alo Dairy Farm and Tanvir Dairy Farm, and each year farmers profit by selling them at Eid-ul-Azha.

According to the Upazila Livestock Office, these are albino buffaloes, a very rare type. A genetic defect causes a lack of melanin in the skin, so their bodies are light pink or sometimes pure white. Their eyes are usually light pink or blue. They are as calm as black buffaloes and eat the same food as other buffaloes. Because of their pink colour they are in higher demand among buyers.

Sharif Hossain, director of Zakir Dairy Farm in Aronkola, said the two pink buffaloes have been reared at the farm for six years, as a hobby. They have to be bathed twice a day and fed several times a day, and they are fully fit for sacrifice.

Farm owner Zakir Hossain said the two albino buffaloes are hard to find and were collected with great effort. Their market price is now Tk 4 lakh 20 thousand; because they look very beautiful, the price is a little higher.

Ishwardi Upazila Livestock Officer Aklima Khatun said a rare pair of buffaloes is being reared at a farm in Aronkola for Eid-ul-Azha. The breed, called albino buffalo, comes into the country through Teknaf in Cox's Bazar. Their pink colour makes them look very beautiful, so demand for them among Eid buyers appears high.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.