The buffalo looks like a pig
Mr. To Van Lon (or Mr. Tu Lon, born in 1964) used to be a commune official in Tien Thuan commune, Ben Cau district, Tay Ninh province. Mr. Tu Lon noticed that there was a source of food for buffalo in the area where he lived, such as: Rice straw waste in the fields after each harvest, green grass growing all over the marshes in the rainy season, or water spinach sprouting in canals, rivers,…
Around 1988, Mr. Tu Lon went to Cambodia to buy buffalo. At that time, he saw a pregnant female buffalo with a beautiful and strange pink skin color (this breed is called pink buffalo), so he bought it for 17.5 million VND. After keeping the buffalo for about 4-5 months, the buffalo gave birth to a pink calf.
One of Mr. Tu Lon’s pink buffaloes.
The unique skin color of pink buffaloes attracts the attention of many people.
Over time, Mr. Tu Lon crossbred the female buffalo, giving birth to many other pink buffaloes. He kept the female buffaloes for reproduction, and sold the male buffaloes after one year. Currently, Mr. Tu Lon’s herd has more than 20 buffaloes, including about 10 pink buffaloes.
Mr. Tu Lon said that when pink buffaloes are crossbred with pink buffaloes, they give birth to pink calves. While if pink buffaloes are crossbred with black buffaloes, they give birth to black calves. Mr. Tu himself is not sure why this buffalo breed has such a special skin color. Previously, there were also a few people who raised pink buffaloes in his locality, but now they are less common. It can be said that Mr. Tu Lon is the person who owns the most pink buffaloes in Tay Ninh province.
In addition to the difference in color, pink buffaloes are similar to black buffaloes in terms of reproductive characteristics, eating, plowing power, etc. Especially, pink buffaloes are very gentle. In terms of economic value, Mr. Tu Lon said that the value of pink buffaloes and black buffaloes is equivalent.
Mr. Tu Lon is currently the owner of a herd of more than 20 buffaloes, including about 10 pink buffaloes.
According to Mr. Tu Lon, the characteristics and economic value of pink buffaloes are similar to black buffaloes. Pink buffaloes are gentler.
The truth about the rumor of pink buffaloes being worth billions per calf
The herd of buffaloes with unique skin color of Mr. Tu Lon once attracted a lot of attention from people in Tay Ninh and other localities. Many people in Ho Chi Minh City also made the effort to go to Tay Ninh to see Mr. Tu Lon’s herd of buffaloes, take photos, film, and express their desire to buy buffaloes but he did not sell.
When asked about the rumor of pink buffaloes being worth billions of Vietnamese Dong per calf, the farmer denied it. “That’s just a rumor. The story is that in the past, a man also bought a pink male buffalo for plowing. Then he made a fortune thanks to that buffalo, so before he died, he instructed his children not to let that buffalo work anymore and left it for breeding, not for sale.
The man said he would not sell it no matter how much. It is not that pink buffaloes are worth billions and he doesn’t sell. In fact, pink buffaloes are valued at about 24 million VND per calf, equivalent to the price of black buffaloes. The price of pink calves may be slightly higher than that of black calves”, Mr. Tu said.
Mr. Tu keeps buffaloes for reproduction and sells calves. Each large pink buffalo is priced at about 24 million VND, equivalent to black buffaloes.
Pink calves may be slightly more expensive. Mr. Tu denies that pink buffaloes are worth billions of Vietnamese Dong per calf.
He also added that in the past, raising buffaloes also brought him a decent income. However, the price of buffalo has now become much cheaper than before. For example, a buffalo that gives birth this year, if raised until next year and sold, will fetch about 9-10 million VND. Whereas in the past, the price of a buffalo was about ten million VND.
Every day, Mr. Tu Lon takes care of the buffaloes from 1 pm to about 5:30 pm. Raising buffaloes only requires labor and physical strength, it does not cost much because these animals mainly eat grass. The buffaloes eat on their own and swim across the river to return to the pen at dusk.
Source: Unique Vietnam
