"Two Heads, Eight Legs"... Calf Born After Five Hours of Labor Dies Shortly After Birth

[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] A calf with two heads and eight legs has been born in India, drawing attention. Sadly, the calf died shortly after birth.

According to local media outlets, including People's Update, veterinarians rushed to a buffalo farm in Tenali mandal, Guntur, in Andhra Pradesh, southern India, after the animal began labor. They delivered the calf about five hours later.

The newborn calf had two heads and a total of eight legs. It had two heads and multiple limbs attached to a single body.

However, the calf died soon after birth. The mother buffalo that gave birth was reported to be in good health, with no apparent problems.

From a veterinary perspective, animals with abnormally duplicated heads and limbs may be linked to severe congenital malformations that occur during fetal development in the womb.

In particular, some two-headed animals are explained as a form of conjoined twins, in which the fertilized egg or early embryo does not fully separate. If the embryo does not split completely, two heads or duplicated body structures can form on a single body.

In fact, cases of conjoined calves with two heads and eight legs have been reported before.

In February this year, a buffalo in Madhya Pradesh, India, gave birth to a calf with two heads and eight legs, but the calf died shortly after birth.

In May, a calf with two heads and four legs was born in Utah, United States. That calf was also reported to have died shortly afterward.

Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.