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Bangladesh is currently under its strictest lockdown to combat a surge in COVID-19 cases led by the highly contagious Delta variant
The nationwide lockdown has shut down the country’s transportation system with army troops patrolling streets to ensure compliance with the restrictions that have been extended to 14 July for now.
People aren’t allowed to leave their homes except for emergencies or to buy essentials.
An army personnel gestures to a rickshaw driver at a road checkpoint in Dhaka.
Image via Munir Uz zaman/AFP/Al Jazeera
But thousands and thousands of people from across the country are thronging to a farm in Charigram village, situated outside Dhaka.
All because they want to see a cow named Rani (meaning ‘queen’).
Rani is no ordinary cow.
The 23-month-old bovine stands just 51cm (20″) tall and weighs 28kg, but has become a media star globally, with more than 15,000 people have already visited her at the farm, according to BBC.
To say Rani is tiny would be an understatement.
In fact, her owner has applied to the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s smallest cow.
People clicking photos of Rani.
Image via Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/VICE
The international body has promised a decision in three months, the owner claimed.
Image via Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/The Atlantic
According to Shikor Agro farm manager Hasan Howlader, most of the people coming from far away places want to take selfies with Rani
“People come long distances despite the coronavirus lockdown. Most want to take selfies with Rani,” Mr Howlader told AFP, adding “honestly speaking, we are tired.”
“We did not expect such huge interest. We did not think people would leave their homes because of the worsening virus situation. But they have come here in droves,” the manager said.
Image via BBC
Image via Munir Uz zaman/AFP/ABS-CBN News
Rina Begum, a 30-year-old woman from a neighbouring town, said that she has never seen anything like Rani in her entire life
Rani is Bhutti or Bhutanese, a breed that is prized for its meat in Bangladesh.
According to Howladar, she has walking difficulties and is afraid of the other cows at the farm, so she is kept separate from the rest of the herd. The other Bhuttis on the farm are twice Rani’s size.
“She doesn’t eat much. She eats a small amount of bran and straw twice a day,” the manager said, adding that Rani “likes to roam outside and seems to be happy when we take her in our arms”.
Image via AFP/Daily Mail
Rani, however, isn’t so thrilled about people
Kazi Mohammed Abu Sufian, an executive at the farm, told VICE World News that Rani is not used to interacting with so many people and that she just wants her space to roam around and eat grass.
“We have now hired three security guards just to take care of her, but she doesn’t like it,” he said.
Image via Munir Uz Zaman/AFP
Image via AFP/Daily Mail