Viral TikTok clip saves ‘senior citizen’ water buffalo from slaughter in rural Philippines

The carabao – which for 32 years had dutifully ploughed its master’s field – had been slated for slaughter, till a viral TikTok post gave it a lifeline. - JEZREEL BEONCIO/TIKTOK

MANILA: For over 32 years, a carabao – a domesticated water buffalo – ploughed a rice field and hauled heavy loads for its master. When it couldn’t anymore, it was marked for slaughter.

Fortunately, in the social media age when word spreads far and wide at the speed of a thought, the ageing animal found an unlikely lifeline – on TikTok, of all places.