A goat has triggered fears of a curse on its owners after giving birth to a creature that look like a pig mixed with a human.
The mutant kid was one of two delivered by cesarean section after the goat went into labour at a farm in the Philippines, reports the Daily Mirror. But while one of the newborns appeared like any other baby goat, the other was furless, and had trotters and a naval.
“We were shocked. We can’t explain how it looks like that. All our neighbours flocked into our house to get a good look,” said Josephine Repique, 40, whose family owns the farm, on Sultan Kudarat, on the southern island of Mindanao.
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Neither the two kids nor the mother goat survived the birth earlier this month, leaving the family upset and confused. “Nobody knows what it is, but it’s not a goat. We’re all wondering why it happened and if it’s bad luck,” Repique said.
But experts believe the goat suffered from a genetic mutation in the womb, says the Daily Mail.
Dr Agapita Salces, of the Institute of Animal Science of the University of the Philippines, said the foetus appeared to have suffered a genetic mutation in the womb.
“It is also possible the mother contracted a disease called Rift Valley fever from mosquito bites and this caused the impaired development of the infant,” Salces explained.
According to the World Health Organization, Rift Valley fever is a “viral zoonosis that primarily affects animals”. It is difficult to distinguish from other similar fever diseases, such as malaria, typhoid fever and yellow fever.
Sheep and goats appear to be more susceptible than other animals.
The creature in the Philippines is not this year’s first mutant animal. In May, a video posted online showing a strange-looking pig with human-like hands and a straight tail, according to The Sun.