A mutant calf with 2 heads, 4 eyes, 2 noses and 2 mouths has been born in northeastern India.
Rare footage taken on a farm in Amarpur, Tripura, shows this newborn animal struggling to stay on its feet under the weight of its conjoined heads.
Later, a man can be seen feeding the animal lying on a hay bed with a bottle.
The fledgling creature suffers from a polyencephalopathy that causes its skull, two pairs of eyes and one pair of ears to stick together.
Dr. Pritam Sarkar, deputy director of the Department of Animal Resources Development, stressed that he has not heard of another incident in the state in the past 10 to 15 years.
He said: ‘It’s the rarest of the rare. In such cases the survival rate is very low.
‘It’s about 38% and it’s very difficult to save the calf. It has two heads, two ears and four eyes.’
The mutant animal has 2 heads, 4 eyes, 2 noses and 2 mouths (Image: Jam Press)
It comes after farmers Chaitanna Das used artificial insemination (AI) under the local government’s Mukhyamantri Unnoto Godhan Prakalpa (MUGP) program to increase the state’s milk supply.
It is used as a means to grow the herd without the expense of owning a bull.
Biologists say biceps develop when a fertilized egg does not fully separate or when a gene that controls head width is overexpressed.
Just a few weeks ago, another mutant calf became an attraction in Gangaikondan, southern India.
In April last year, a two-headed cow also made headlines in North Macedonia after it was born in the village of Lazec.
At the time, farmer Vasko Petrovski said the veterinarian who examined the animal told him it was functioning properly and that the owner was determined to keep the calf healthy and alive.
However, it is unclear whether either animal is still alive.
