No, you’re not seeing double: this cow really has two heads!
The mutant cow was born on a Kentucky farm with two heads, including four eyes and ears, and two mouths and noses.
The Tarter family was shocked by the strange birth, which they were told was “one in 400 million.”
Cassie Tarter, 20, said: “It had two heads, four ears, four eyes, two noses, two mouths and two tongues.
‘He had a very short back but his spine was also inverted in the thoracic cavity. It had deformed hind legs and a very short tail.’
No, you’re not seeing double: this cow really has two heads! The mutant cow was born in a remote part of Kentucky with two heads, including four eyes and ears, and two mouths and noses.
The Tarter family was shocked by the strange birth, which they have been told is “one in 400 million”.
The mutant cow was born on a farm in Edmonson County, in the US state of Kentucky.
Cassie, an agriculture student, was told it was one birth in 400 million.
“I was surprised,” he said.
“We had a pig like this years ago, but I wasn’t born at the time.”
Two-headed animals often face a multitude of health problems, and although this one was born alive, it lived only a short time.
In addition to an abnormal spine, the calf had a cleft palate in one of its mouths, arthrogryposis in its legs, and an underdeveloped rectum.
The mutant cow was born on the farm in Edmonson County, in the US state of Kentucky, but unfortunately did not survive.
Cassie Tarter, 20, said: “It had two heads, four ears, four eyes, two noses, two mouths and two tongues. ‘It had a very short back but it also had an inverted spine in the chest cavity. It had back legs deformed and had a very short tail’
However, his short life had a great impact on Cassie and her classmates.
She said: ‘I had to have it to take to my class at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green.
‘I learned that there are two ways this can happen: one is DNA and RNA replication, another is for the twins to stop growing and start being ‘absorbed.’
“We did an autopsy on him in my physiology and reproduction class and discovered that his organs were perfect for a single calf, so it wasn’t a twin that stopped growing.”
The mother cow is fine despite the death of her calf.
And although the experience was tinged with loss, some good came out of the bad.
Cassie said, “It was a little bit of both because we ended up making it a learning experience.”
“So I got that out of there, and so did everyone else.”