A calf born with two snouts, three eyes and half an extra face has defied the odds to survive in India.
The healthy calf, who is yet to be named, was born in Navalur village in Thanjavur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu on August 10.
Although the calf has one body, it appears to have two faces, two snouts and three eyes – but only one pair of ears and one mouth.
The calf was born with two snouts, three eyes and half an extra face in India on August 10
The healthy calf, who is yet to be named, was born in Navalur village in Thanjavur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu
The calf’s owner Sanglimuthu said everyone was stunned when they saw the animal and no-one, including vets, thought it would survive.
‘We were stunned when we saw the calf. We have never seen a two-headed animal,’ he said.
‘Nobody in the village, including the vets, believed that the calf would survive even for a week but the animal has defied the odds to survive for over a month now.’
The calf’s owner Sanglimuthu (pictured with the calf) said everyone was stunned when they saw the animal and no-one, including vets, thought it would survive
But the healthy calf has defied the odds to survive and is now more than a month old
Sanglimuthu said crowds of people come to his house every day to see the calf, who is fed milk five times a day with a bottle.
A villager named Thirumurugan added: ‘We all were astonished when we heard that a calf with two heads is born in our village. It is a miracle.’
The phenomenon of being born with more than one head is called polycephaly.
Sanglimuthu says the calf, whose condition is called polycephaly, is fed milk five times a day with a bottle
Sanglimuthu said crowds of people come to his house in the village every day to see the calf
It is believed to occur when an embryo begins to split into twins but stops, leaving the two bodies attached.
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.
Animals with the condition rarely live beyond a few months.