File photo of Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro. | Moises Lopez/Twitter
File photo of Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro. | Moises Lopez/Twitter
Text Size:

New Delhi: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was bitten by a rhea, a large bird that looks like an ostrich and emu, when he tried to feed it during a stroll around the presidential palace grounds in Brasilia Monday. The President tested positive for Covid-19 last week and has been under quarantine since.

Bolsonaro has been undergoing self-isolation at the presidential palace since testing positive for the virus. Previously, he had, for months, downplayed the threat of Covid-19 in Brazil, calling it “just a little flu”, and had openly flouted social distancing norms by giving handshakes and interacting with crowds of people.

The 65-year-old was seen wearing a mask during his walk through the palace grounds after being infected with the virus. He had earlier diluted a law requiring face masks to be worn in Brazil. The country is the second worst-hit by the pandemic, with, at last count, more than 19.31 lakh novel coronavirus cases.

Twitter users were quick to poke fun at Bolsonaro after his encounter with the rhea.

Washington-based political strategist Alexandra Chalupa compared this to when US President Donald Trump was attacked by an eagle during a photo shoot in 2015. “The birds know what’s up,” she posted.

We are deeply grateful to our readers & viewers for their time, trust and subscriptions.

Quality journalism is expensive and needs readers to pay for it. Your support will define our work and ThePrint’s future.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Indian user Rudrani D joked that this was a “Massive win for Rheas all over the world”.

Many mistook the rhea for a similar looking bird, the emu, which also happens to be a distant relative of the rhea. Twitter handle @charlottr said, “Well done comrade emu”. The main difference between the two birds is that the emu is native to Australia and taller, whereas the Greater Rhea is native to South America and relatively shorter.

Seattle-based James Austin said, “Fresh off a decisive victory against Australia, the emus have targeted Brazil with a failed decapitation strike. Truely we can know no peace until we have destroyed them all.”

 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram

News media is in a crisis & only you can fix it

You are reading this because you value good, intelligent and objective journalism. We thank you for your time and your trust.

You also know that the news media is facing an unprecedented crisis. It is likely that you are also hearing of the brutal layoffs and pay-cuts hitting the industry. There are many reasons why the media’s economics is broken. But a big one is that good people are not yet paying enough for good journalism.

We have a newsroom filled with talented young reporters. We also have the country’s most robust editing and fact-checking team, finest news photographers and video professionals. We are building India’s most ambitious and energetic news platform. And we aren’t even three yet.

At ThePrint, we invest in quality journalists. We pay them fairly and on time even in this difficult period. As you may have noticed, we do not flinch from spending whatever it takes to make sure our reporters reach where the story is. Our stellar coronavirus coverage is a good example. You can check some of it here.

This comes with a sizable cost. For us to continue bringing quality journalism, we need readers like you to pay for it. Because the advertising market is broken too.

If you think we deserve your support, do join us in this endeavour to strengthen fair, free, courageous, and questioning journalism, please click on the link below. Your support will define our journalism, and ThePrint’s future. It will take just a few seconds of your time.

Support Our Journalism