Actual buffalo soldiers patrol the streets of Brazilian island

Aside February 2, 2021 Markozen.com Geography

Military Police riding buffalo on the island of Marajo in Brazil.

Real-life “Buffalo Soldiers” — military police mounted on gigantic water buffalo — routinely patrol the streets of the Brazilian island of Marajo, to the delight of tourists and Bob Marley fans.

The photo of these two soldiers and their steeds was snapped by photographer Fernando Camara on a recent sightseeing jaunt.

It’s traditional for Marajo’s military police to ride the docile, 1,000-pound creatures, he told Caters News.

Marajo, an island the size of Switzerland off Brazil’s northern coast, has some 450,000 domesticated and feral water buffalo — more animals than people. When they’re not carrying soldiers around, they haul farm equipment and provide milk, meat and hides.

“It has become a bit of a tourist attraction,” Camara said. “But it was started with the objectives of reinforcing safety and maintaining the culture of the local population.”

Whether the two buffalo soldiers photographed were also, in fact, dreadlocked rastas could not be immediately determined.

Marajo population: 383,386 (2014)

A Little Bit of This and That

Aside February 2, 2021 Markozen.com Offbeat

Six Weeks Late

Aside February 2, 2021February 2, 2021 Markozen.com Health, Offbeat

Groundhog Manitoba Merv sees his shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter, worse yet, Merv is a Dang Puppet!

Aside February 2, 2021 Markozen.com Offbeat

merv

Just after sunrise, Manitoba Merv, the rodent forecaster at Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre made his Groundhog Day prediction, and it’s grim.

Merv saw his shadow, so Manitobans will have another six weeks of winter.

Oak Hammock Marsh staff say Merv’s predictions have been amazingly accurate.

For the past 23 years, Manitoba Merv has correctly predicted the arrival of spring and only made one error.

The groundhog may well be correct about this year’s prediction. Six weeks from now is mid-March, which is typically when the first geese return, Oak Hammock Marsh staff say.

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I don’t trust groundhogs anyway, or gophers and badgers for that matter. All they’re doing is guessing. And more and more of the guessing is being made by puppeteers.

mervz