Bangladeshi authorities on Wednesday saved a buffalo nicknamed ‘Donald Trump’ because of its flowing blond hair, deemed to resemble the U.S. president’s from being slaughtered as an Eid al-Adha sacrifice.

The albino buffalo, weighing about 700kg, had already been sold to a buyer ahead of Eid al-Adha before Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed intervened due to security concerns.

He also cited the widespread interest the animal had generated, with people travelling long distances to see and photograph it.

Mr Ahmed ordered that the animal be spared and the buyer refunded. The animal will now be kept at a zoo.

“At the last moment, the decision was taken to spare the buffalo from sacrifice due to security concerns and the unusual level of public interest,” a ministry official said.

Police took action after the government’s order.

“The livestock department requested us to take the buffalo from the owner as it is a rare animal,” Mohammad Ruhul Quddus, officer-in-charge of Dhaka’s Keraniganj Police Station, told AFP.

“They said that the albino buffalo is still very young and can be raised for a few years.”

Curator of the National Zoo, Atiqur Rahman, also told the news agency that a caregiver had been assigned and a shed had been prepared for the animal.

“He will be quarantined for two weeks,” he added.

The buffalo was named by the younger brother of farm owner Ziauddin Mridha in Narayanganj, near Dhaka, who said its hair resembles the president’s.

“My younger brother named the buffalo Donald Trump because the hair on the front of its head resembles Donald Trump’s,” Mr Mridha said in a report Reuters published last week.

He added that despite “its striking appearance,” the animal is calm and “does not become aggressive unless provoked.”

According to the farm owner, the buffalo was bathed four times and fed four times daily.

In Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country, millions of goats, buffaloes, cows, and sheep are sacrificed after Eid prayer and sermon.