If you saw a vulture calmly walking beside a man, hopping onto his arm, and hanging around like a loyal pet, you’d assume it was a one-off stunt. But this is real life for a Brazilian animal trainer known online as Russo Adestrador.
In Brazil, he’s become a bit of a TV regular and social media celebrity precisely because he doesn’t stick to the “normal” training roster. He’s worked with animals most people wouldn’t even consider trainable, and he’s built a reputation around patience, observation, and daily coexistence rather than forceful discipline.
A big part of Russo’s public profile is also tied to his dog Toya, who has worked alongside him in disaster relief efforts and has even received a medal for her merit. Russo has taken Toya onto multiple TV programs to share tips and demonstrate training, and those appearances helped turn him into a recognizable figure well beyond the usual dog-and-cat training scene. He’s also been called upon to train the dogs of several Brazilian celebrities.
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Russo isn’t famous for training “easy” animals
Our team reached out to Russo to learn more about him, his approaches, and especially the story of Zico. Russo first told us the basics about himself: “My full name is Willian Claudio Almeida da Silva. I am 33 years old, and I’m from Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Artistically, I’m known as Russo Adestrador – the Magician of Animals.”
He doesn’t stick to the ‘normal’ training roster, and Brazil knows him for it
As a kid, he was training animals that most of us would be scared of
Then he expanded on the vulture story: “Zico came into my life through a rescue. His mother died after touching a high-voltage power line, and he was left alone. I rescued him right here in Saquarema and started taking care of him.”
He later joined the army, but eventually chose animals as his profession
Word spread fast, and demand for his animal training skills increased
Russo says his goal initially was straightforward: “At first, my intention was to rehabilitate him and reintroduce him into the wild. I even have photos from when he was still very young.”
He worked (and still does) with ordinary animals all the time
Russo’s name grew because his training roster kept getting stranger
He says there wasn’t a single dramatic turning point that led to training Zico: “From the beginning, everything happened very naturally, through daily life. I’ve trained many different animals before, so caring for Zico felt very natural to me.”
Fish, birds, tapirs, caimans. He kept leaning into the “impossible” category
But Russo’s proudest partner might be Toya
“I did reintroduce him to nature, but he always came back home.”
Toya has worked with him in disaster relief efforts and has helped train other dogs to do the same
She’s renowned for being awarded a medal of merit and appearing on TV along with Russo
“We kept interacting and playing, and he simply never left my side. Today, he follows me everywhere, accepts affection, and lands on my arm.”
Along with Russo’s rising internet popularity, Toya’s fame has landed him interviews with talk-show hosts several times
Russo posing for a photo with Brazilian comedian and TV host, Danilo Gentili, after appearing on his show “The Noite com Danilo Gentili” (English: “Overnight with Danilo Gentili”).
Russo has trained animals for TV too, including Lady the pig from “A Dona do Pedaço”
Russo added the line that viewers have repeated ever since: “I usually joke that he forgot he’s a vulture and turned into a dog with wings.”
Lady is often seen in the company of a minor animal celebrity, the cat from the TV novella “Éramos Seis”
Russo’s whole approach is based on patience, observation, and daily coexistence
We also asked what he hopes people take away from this, beyond the shock value of a friendly vulture. Russo’s answer was direct: “Every animal is capable of forming bonds, regardless of the species. What truly matters is how humans approach them.”
This approach clearly works on domesticated animals, but it has also allowed Russo to go beyond that
Lately, he’s been sharing work with Dubai, an exotic Savannah F1 “HP” cat
And if there’s one lesson he wants the viral attention to carry: “I hope people learn to respect animals more and understand that they’re not monsters, pests, or automatically dangerous. With patience, care, and respect, it’s possible to build incredible relationships, even with animals many people think are impossible to connect with.”
But Zico the vulture might’ve become his closest animal friend
Zico entered Russo’s life as a rescue after losing his mother
Finally, because Zico feels like such an extreme example, we asked Russo about the other unusual animals he’s trained: “I’ve trained many different animals, including ones people would never expect. I’ve trained several birds, and I’ve even trained a cockroach.”
Russo’s first plan was simple: rehabilitate Zico and release him
And that’s exactly what he did, except Zico kept following Russo and coming back
“Every animal has its own intelligence and its own pace. The secret isn’t force or domination, but understanding, observation, and daily coexistence.”
There wasn’t one “training breakthrough,” just daily life and trust-building
Russo and his fans often joke that Zico “forgot he’s a vulture” and became a dog with wings
