Rodeo gaga

Brazil is the world’s top exporter of beef. It also has the world’s largest cattle population of 230 million head.

From this number one stands out — the supercow named Viatina-19 FIV Mara Movéis. At 1,100 kilograms she’s twice as heavy as an average adult of her breed, CBS News reports.

Viatina-19 is also the most expensive cow. At an auction in April, she was sold for a whopping $4 million to enter the Guinness World Records. The price was attributed to her coveted genes as she can reproduce calves that can easily put on the muscles like herself and are as fertile.

The cow is only used for breeding the best of its kind and not for its meat. Its owners extract Viatina-19’s eggs to create embryos and implant them in surrogate cows in the hope of producing the next magnificent specimens, according to CBS News.

“She’s a complete cow, has all the characteristics that all proprietors are looking for,” Lorrany Martins, a veterinarian and daughter of Ney Pereira, one of Viatina-19’s owners, told CBS News.

Cattle raisers who want to collect Viatina-19’s eggs pay around $250,000.

Meanwhile, there is a breed of bull sought for their prowess in bucking, the main attraction in American rodeos. One of them is 3-year-old Party Bus which made its bucking debut at the Sisters Rodeo in Oregon, USA on 8 June. True enough, it made national headlines but not exactly for the entertainment.

Party Bus jumped the fence of a crowded arena, ran through the concessions area and threw a woman into the air with his horns, New York Post (NYP) reports. The bull’s unexpected behavior lasted 30 seconds before professional handlers safely contained and removed it from the rodeo grounds.

Owner Mike Corey told the Associated Press he had no idea Party Bus would jump the fence, which happens. It made a mistake and didn’t intend to hurt anyone, he added.

The woman who was tossed in the air did not suffer serious injuries but another person broke an arm and a third was hurt in the head and neck, NYP said.

The first rodeo appearance of Party Bus also was its last as the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association decided to ban him from competition. The bull will spend the rest of his days on Corey’s ranch in eastern Washington, siring more baby bulls, according to NYP.