In big American cities like New York, it’s not uncommon, especially during rounds of unrest, to see cops on horseback. Horses are big, strong animals; a well-trained one won’t brook any nonsense from a pedestrian, and there is a distinct intimidation factor – not to mention that a cop on horseback can go places — quickly — that a cop on foot or in a car can’t.
If it’s the intimidation factor you’re interested in, though, the military police on Brazil’s Marajó Island have upped their game – they are patrolling on buffaloback.
Brazil’s military police already have a reputation as one of the toughest combat forces on the planet. But the battalion on Marajó Island at the mouth of the Amazon River has taken things to the next level. Here they patrol the streets on buffaloes.
The horned 1,800-pound beasts, which can pursue suspects across soggy mud flats and swim through thick…
