Villagers in India have been left shocked and amazed after a baby cow was born with two heads.
The strange birth – which took place in a village in Jalalpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, at the end of last month – has been described by locals as a divine miracle.
Although the calf has one body, it has two heads with a total of four eyes and two noses. But where the two heads separate, the young cow still has just the two ears and a joined mouth.
Cattle are considered sacred in India under the nation’s prominent Hindu and Jain religions. The slaughter of cows is largely prohibited and they are free to amble unmolested in traffic-choked streets.
Despite the severe deformities, the cow is reportedly healthy and enjoying its young life in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The 10-day-old cow has two heads with a total of four eyes and two noses. It also a mouth that joins between its two heads
The cow’s strange birth, which took place in a village in Jalalpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, has been described as a divine miracle
Despite the severe deformities, the 10-day-old cow is reportedly healthy and enjoying its young life in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh
Two-headed animals generally have a condition called polycephaly – a term that derives from the Greek word poly, meaning ‘many’ and kephale, meaning ‘head’.
The majority of cows with this deformity are not expected to survive more than a couple of days, and in rare cases, more than a few months.
But this young farm animal has been given a clean bill of health and so far enjoying its ten-day-old life.
Although the cow has a peculiar mouth that is still joined between its heads, it is still able to drink its mother’s milk.
Family members who reared the cow and local villagers have considered it to be a wonder of nature and many have gone so far as to suggested it is a divine miracle.
After the news spread, people from nearby districts and villages flocked to see this rare two-headed beast.
According to vets, this type of case can occur due to the abnormal development of cells during the development of the embryo.
Animals that develop the polycephaly condition, also referred to as dicephalic parapagus, have two heads on one torso.
Each head of a polycephalic animal has its own brain, and they share control of the organs and limbs, though the specific structure of the connections varies between each case.
Family members who reared the cow and local villagers have considered it to be a wonder of nature and many have gone so far to suggested it is a divine miracle
After the news spread, people from nearby districts and villages flocked to see this rare two-headed beast. Cattle are considered sacred in India under the nation’s prominent Hindu and Jain religions
The majority of cows with this deformity are not expected to survive more than a couple of days, and in rare cases, more than a few months
They are referred to as bicephalic or dicephalic if the animals have two heads. In some cases, they can have three heads in which they are referred to as tricephalic.
Although rare, this condition has been found across the globe.
In January last year, a baby calf with two heads, four eyes and two mouths become a local attraction in Gangaikondan, south India. Curious spectators were seen queueing up to see the newborn creature lying in a shed with its mother.
Another case was documented in Pondok Wuluh Village, in East Java, India. The also had four functioning eyes and two separate mouths.
In Florida in May 2015, another cow was born with a single body, two heads, a total of four eyes, two mouths, two noses and two ears.
