A 4-and-a-half-year-old Nelore breed cow known as Viatina-19 FIV Mara Imóveis was recently priced at $4.3 million, making it the most expensive cow in the world by a large margin.

One-third of the ownership of the cow was recently sold at an auction in Arandú, Brazil for 6.99 million real ($1.44 million), putting its total value at a staggering $4.3 million. Viatina-19 FIV Mara Imóveis had already been named the world’s most expensive bovine last year when half of its ownership was auctioned off for around $800,000, which was another record-breaking price at the time. The record-breaking transaction is indicative of the Nelore cattle breed’s genetic qualities, as well as the demand for high-quality animals with outstanding genetic characteristics.

Viatina-19 FIV Mara Imóveis price is considered a new milestone for the Nelore, a cow breed highly valued all over the world for its qualities. Characterized by their bright white fur, loose skin, and a large bulbous hump above their shoulders, the Nelore is primarily known for their naturally high resistance to hot weather. Their white fur plays a big part in this, as it reflects most wavelengths of light, as does the fact that their sweat glands are twice as large and 30 percent more numerous than those of most European breeds.

Nelore cattle, named after the Indian district of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, also have a very efficient metabolism, which allows them to thrive even on low-quality forage. Incredibly hardy and resilient, the Nelore can resist a number of parasitic infections and their tough skin is much harder for blood-sucking insects to penetrate. The breed also breeds very easily, as females have wider pelvic openings and larger birth canals than other cattle breeds, and calves require almost no assistance from humans.

According to a 2018 report by the Guardian, sperm from the most valuable Nelore bulls can cost $5,000 per 0.55-milliliter (0.03 ounces) dose. There are around 167,000,000 Nelore cows in Brazil, around 80 percent of the cattle in the South American country.

Oddity Central