Solon Brochado: This is old news and not really important in any way. But the idea of nine oxes running loose on the streets of São Paulo seemed so funny to me that I just had to post it.
Ox escapes, runs on the streets and invades a butchery
At 18:00 tuesday, Vandelã Garcia was preparing to close his butchery, at Padre José Maria avenue, a few meters from the largo 13 de Maio, in Santo Amaro (south side of São Paulo), when an ox invaded his meat house.
Running, it knocked down shelves, frightened customers and employees and headed toward Orlando, an employee who was salting dry meat at the back of the store.
He didn’t think twice: went off running and locked himself in a bathroom, where he stayed ’till 21:45.
The ox, sporting a number 68 tag, was one of nine who escaped a truck, in Santo Amaro, near the marginal [a big avenue that runs along a river’s margin] Pinheiros.
Up until tuesday night, only three of the runaways had been recovered, according to the Military Police.
The animals invaded the marginal and disbanded, through avenues Guido Caloi, João Dias, Vitor Manzini and Washington Luís, all very crowded at the time of the stampede.
The animals’ owner, who lives in Osasco, was warned and was trying to recover them, according to the police.
The butchery’s owner said the invading animal was with other two oxes, who left his running mate behind and kept going through the avenue.
Prank
At Washington Luís avenue, by number 1.600, Alex Lopes, 27, who works as a watchman in a local videostore, was amazed when he saw three oxes walking peacefully among the cars, at 17:50.
“I called the fire department. At first they thought it was a prank”, he said.
One of the animals that had gotten away from the group, and was running by Manoel dos Reis Araújo avenue, tried to go back into Washington Luís avenue and was run over by a Fiat Palio, which got pretty thrashed.
The car’s owner wasn’t hurt, but the ox suffered some head injuries.
Roughrider
Even injured, the animal continued to walk, and was captured by volunteer-roughriders, with no horn or horses.
One of them, Marciel Brandão da Silva, 35, worked shepherding cattle in Alagoas from age 9 to age 18 and had a chance to remember his old job. “I used to handle this animals every day”.
