In Soure, a small city on Brazil’s Marajó Island, the police force looks a bit different. When the rainy season floods the mangroves and turns roads into mud, patrol cars become useless—and horses can’t handle the terrain.
So, officers saddle up on something else entirely: water buffalo.
Weighing nearly a ton, these powerful animals were originally brought from Asia—and they’ve made the island their home. With hooves built for muddy flats and the ability to swim through tangled mangrove swamps, buffalo can go where no other transport dares. They can outrun suspects across flooded plains and wade through wetlands where engines would stall.
To the locals, it’s not strange—it’s brilliant. The buffalo aren’t just symbols of Marajó. They’re part of the community, part of tradition, and now, part of law enforcement.
This isn’t a scene from a movie. It’s real life. And on this island, the long arm of the law has horns.
