Vitorioso: much more than a buffalo, a life lesson

In 2014, on a road in front of Projeto Anjinhos da Rua in Peruíbe, it was already the early hours of the morning when the project's veterinarians were called to help an animal that had been hit by a car.

Used to this kind of call, they went to the scene expecting a horse or an ox, which are more common on that stretch of road. When they got there, they were surprised to find a far less common animal: a female buffalo, and a pregnant one at that.

Given the situation and the animal's serious condition, the veterinarians took the buffalo to the project, where they managed to keep her alive until she gave birth to her “little” calf three months later. Sadly, she passed away 40 days after giving birth.

Despite the pain of the accident, the mother buffalo's bravery and determination were not in vain: she left a great legacy, one of the great stars of Projeto Anjinhos da Rua, Vitorioso the buffalo, whose name means “victorious”.

Vitorioso is a Murrah buffalo, almost 4 years old and weighing almost a ton. He is completely tame and extremely gentle, loves cooling off in one of the project's lakes and loves having his photo taken, especially selfies, with a big smile on his face. But the beginning was not easy: Vitorioso and his mother spent 40 days inseparable, and after her death it took a lot of love, affection and dedication to make up for how much he missed her.

Chalana Machado and the whole Projeto Anjinhos da Rua team took every possible care, paying attention to the smallest details, so that Vitorioso would not feel his mother's absence so much. An Indigenous friend of the Machado family advised them to warm the milk when feeding him, as if it came from his mother, and that is how he started feeding again after the buffalo's death.

Vitorioso's name was inspired by his story, the result of the hard work of everyone involved in the project. He shows that, with love, affection and dedication, there are no limits when doing good.

Today, he stands for everything Projeto Anjinhos da Rua wants to pass on to each of the more than 1,300 animals in its care: every life deserves to be celebrated and cared for with the utmost devotion, love and affection.

Want to know more about Vitorioso? Watch the report by the TV show Domingo Espetacular on YouTube (in Portuguese).