It may have been a dog’s day, but it certainly is the cow’s year as the world’s most expensive cow has been taken to auction and is worth a whopping $4 million. Humongous, white-bodied Viatina-19 FIV Mara Movéis is a cow holding not only 2,400 pounds (1,100 kilograms) in weight but also a world record. Twice as heavy as the average adult for her breed, Mara was sold for three times more than the previous record holder for precisely $4.38 million. The 53-month-old cow of the Nelore breed was sold at an auction in Arandú, São Paulo, Brazil. The nation is known for its cattle industry, imperative to the economy, and is the world’s top beef exporter.
Viatina-19’s proud owners are celebrating the victorious mammal with two billboards urging curious locals and veterinary students to make pilgrimages to see the supercow. Why these cows fetch such truckloads of money is explained by Arab News that state people extract the eggs and semen from champion animals, create embryos, and implant them in surrogate cows that they hope will produce the next magnificent specimens. “We’re not slaughtering elite cattle. We’re breeding them. And at the end of the line, we’re going to feed the whole world,” one of her owners, Ney Pereira, said. “I think Viatina will provide that.”
This world-record-holding cow is no stranger to awards. She has won “Miss South America” at the Texas-based “Champion of the World” competition, which is a cow version of the Miss Universe competition. Viatina-19’s price tag, according to Lorrany Martins, a veterinarian and Pereira’s daughter, is owing to her rapid muscle growth, exceptional fertility, and the ability to pass these qualities on to her calves. She shared with Dailymail that breeders are willing to pay a whopping $250,000 to collect Viatina-19’s egg cells. “She is the closest to perfection that has been attained so far,” Martins said. “She’s a complete cow, has all the characteristics that all the proprietors are looking for.”
