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Animal Deformities

Saw a docu recently about a pair of co-joined twins - they're teenagers now. And they're having a great time - at home, school, learing to drive et al. Wonderful. But all the way though I couldn't help thinking what was going to happen when one of them dies. The other is going to die too - and soon. And she knows it's gunna happen. Real soon. :cry:

I have a news link of the 'pair' if any ony wants me to post it - it's actually really uplifting.
 
Would that be the Hensel twins? I've read some articles about them, and what impresses me most is the way the whole family has dealt with it - the girls have been able to grow up in as normal a way as possible, and that's some achievement.

The calf (poor little bludger) reminded me of a poem I discovered a few weeks ago. It's the first poem I've ever read that really touched me, to the extent that I couldn't read it the first few times without filling up. This is it:-


The Two-Headed Calf

Tomorrow when the farm boys find this
freak of nature, they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.

But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard, the wind in the grass. And
as he stares into the sky, there are
twice as many stars as usual.

- Laura Gilpin
 
monops said:
The Two-Headed Calf

Tomorrow when the farm boys find this
freak of nature, they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.

But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard, the wind in the grass. And
as he stares into the sky, there are
twice as many stars as usual.

- Laura Gilpin

:cry:
 
*aww* It's the last line that gets you isn't it? :cry:
I wonder if the calf has two seperate brains or not? You can't help but feel although the vet says it's fine, that it can't be?
 
I wondered that, as well. I couldn't help wondering if there are two, or even one and a half, seperate identities all mixed up in that little head, wondering in a bovine sort of way what the heck is going on.

It means a lot to me that you could both see what I meant about the poem - most people have either reacted like my husband (*shrug* "s'ok...") or they've smiled politely while moving in the general direction of away...

Incidentally, during the same search (don't ask...!), I found this site; as well as being quite an interesting look at freak shows and sideshows from the past, there are some interesting photos. Be careful, though - one or two of them really aren't very pretty.

http://www.sideshowworld.com/BarnYardFS.html

edit: Oh, and there's this, as well -

http://www.dailyhaha.com/_vids/Two_Headed_Cat.htm

According to the soundtrack, this cat is a hospital visiting cat :shock: . In what capacity, exactly? "Now get back into bed and take your medicine, or we'll bring the cat in to see you again!" ?
 
I've seen some facial deformities in my time (it's a subject I'm particularly interested in, and I worked in teratology for a time), but that has to be one of the most bizarre deformities I've ever seen, poor little s*d. To me, it's like the drawing that can appear both as two faces and a vase - when I look at the piglet I see two little piglet heads next to each other, then my perception shifts and it becomes a strange, ugly, almost cyclopic monster.

Reading the comments underneath, it's interesting that some people just can't make it out at all. I wonder why that is?
 
When I first saw the picture I thought it looked like a mouth in the middle and two leg's, It was only on closer inspection I saw the two snouts. The angle of the picture is not the best really. Still it's certainly strange that there seems to be an increse of animals being born with extra limbs and heads over the last few months
 
It looks like one of those images you get using kaleidoscopic mirrors...
 
That poor creature. I hope they put the poor thing to sleep rather than parade it around for the newspapers.
 
I thought it was a butt hole when i first saw it :oops:

Poor little piggy :cry:
 
I doubt that it will be put to sleep, It was born just before the year of the pig and seems to be regarded as a lucky omen
 
cokker said:
I thought it was a butt hole when i first saw it :oops:

Poor little piggy :cry:

I did too actually. I thought they were making a joke by taking a picture of the backside. Then I saw it. I don't want it to be put to sleep, although I have to wonder if it survived anyway, often these animals don't.
 
Chicken born with duck’s webbed feet

BUGA, Columbia – A chicken in Colombia has what you might call an identity crisis.

It was born with the legs of a duck. They are webbed like a duck’s.

The bird has caught the eyes of many residents in the area and crowds of villagers have been flocking to the farm where the bird is caged.

The odd looking bird is not a result of a duck sneaking into a hen house for a late night rendezvous. Veterinary experts say it’s impossible for the two different species to breed.

They say the bird is simply a genetic mishap.

chickduckyz9.jpg

9news
 
Photo link: seven legged lamb

Poor little thing is doomed:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1 ... 97,00.html

A seven-legged lamb was born last Friday to a farmer in Methven near
Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand. Veterinarian Steve
Williams said he believed a misprint in embryo formation resulted in the
lamb being born polydactyl -- in other words, with many legs -- a
condition that occurs once in several million sheep. The lamb will
likely be destroyed, Williams said, because it was born without a bowel
and cannot pass feces. It can walk, using its two forelegs and three
hind legs. The remaining two legs hang useless behind the lamb's
forelegs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry, I tried fifteen different ways to get the photo in here but I can't figure out how to do it. If someone else can, please, grab it and post it so we can keep a copy of it in here. Thx.

To see it on ImageDump: http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=511239[/img]
 
I'm not looking.

I didn't want to look at the one-eyed kitten either... :D
 
Five-legged cat to lose two paws

You'd think they could at least leave it with the usual number of legs, even if one'd be a bit dodgy...

BBC

Five-legged cat to lose two paws

Baby Girl will have two paws removed in the operation


Cat's history
A five-legged cat is to undergo surgery to remove a superfluous paw growing from the left side of her body.

The stray was found by a US family in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, and taken to a local animal shelter, where she was named Baby Girl.

The operation will not make her a four-footed feline, as vets also plan to amputate a deformed left hind leg.

But staff at the shelter say Baby Girl is already adept at getting around using only 60% of current paw power.

Chrystin Rice, who works at the Washington Area Humane Society, says Baby Girl is in good health as she waits for her operation, scheduled to take place within the next fortnight.

"She's a little bit wild, but she is very easy to handle," she said.

"The veterinarians who have seen her are just amazed that she has five legs. It's probably from in-breeding."

The operation will improve the cat's quality of life, the society says.

So far no one has applied to adopt Baby Girl, although there have been a number of calls to inquire about her progress.

But Chrystin Rice says people shouldn't be put off by the extra leg - or the forthcoming lack of one which should be there.

"It's actually a really, really nice cat," she said.
 
Re: Five-legged cat to lose two paws

I’m a cat-hater and this really made my day! :twisted:
 
MANILA, Philippines – A cow with 6 legs was found in Lobo, Batangas creating a fuss among Batangueños who were amazed at the animal.

Cattle raiser Ping Mendoza, 51, has never imagined that their cow will be unique among others.

He said he was also surprised upon seeing the cattle which they named “Puti.”

Mendoza related that they consider “Puti” special because they believe it is bringing luck to their family since it was born a year ago.

“He further shared that many have offered to buy “Puti” from them but they refused to give it away. He said they consider “Puti” as a family member.

According to Rosie Egea, Municipal Agriculturist of Lobo, Batangas, there are various scientific reasons why an animal is born with an abnormal number of legs.

It may be due to hereditary reasons or also because of an abnormal pregnancy of its mother.

Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/cl ... d-batangas


I can't seem to find much more about this new case, other than this same article being reposted in various places on the 'net, at the moment.
 
There's a two-headed 'Siamese' turtle at the Co-ex Aquarium in Seoul. It's clearly two unlucky creatures sharing a body, and while I've no idea which head controls which limbs, the way they disdainfully look in opposite directions for most of the time before finally lapsing into a look of superior suspicion at their twin is wonderful: it's like a comedy sketch.

Edit. Here they are:
two-heads.jpg
 
lopaka3 said:
EDIT: Can't seem to get the image to display. Photo at link.

What link?
 
Poor wee thing. Still, I'm glad it had a few weeks of a normal life.



Woman finds baby cardinal with 2 heads, 3 beaks
A Northampton woman made an unusual discovery in her yard - a deformed baby cardinal with two heads and three beaks.

April Britt says she found the bird near the base of a tree Monday and returned it to its nest.

The 67-year-old Britt tells the Daily Hampshire Gazette the bird apparently couldn't eat without assistance from the adult birds. The middle beak didn't work well and the other two didn't appear to be connected to the bird's throat.

A scientist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society says animals with such abnormalities rarely survive birth, making the find all the more unusual. He says the deformities could have been caused by genetic or environmental factors.

The baby and adults were gone by Tuesday.

Also a photo:

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s293 ... rdinal.jpg
 
Stumbled across this video yesterday. Cyclopia is normally incompatible with life, but I have heard of the occasional animal surviving, and as this little turtle appears to have a functional jaw (it's really disconcerting when it looks straight at the camera and opens its mouth), I suppose its chances are as good as any...

youtube.com/watch?v=dMZ0bD3 ... =endscreen
Video is "unavailable" (deleted?)


I do apologise for the music.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Fishermen in Mexico find two conjoined whale calves
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-25663557

Two conjoined gray whale calves at the Ojo de Liebre lagoon, in Los Cabos resort, state of Baja California, Mexico, on January 5, 2014

The two conjoined gray whale calves have been described as "exceptionally rare"

Mexican officials say fishermen have found two conjoined gray whale calves in a lagoon in Baja California.

A government biologist, Benito Bermudez, said the whales were found alive in the Ojo de Liebre lagoon but died shortly after being born.

He said they were linked at the waist, with two full heads and tail fins.

Every year, thousands of gray whales swim south from the US state of Alaska to warmer waters in Mexico where they mate and give birth.

Mr Bermudez, who works for Mexico's National Natural Protected Areas Commission, or CONANP, described the discovery as "exceptionally rare".

"It's the first record we have of this event in the history of whale censuses we've conducted since 1985," he told the EFE news agency.

He said scientists were collecting skin, muscle and baleen samples to study the creatures.
 
ramonmercado said:
Fishermen in Mexico find two conjoined whale calves
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-25663557

Two conjoined gray whale calves at the Ojo de Liebre lagoon, in Los Cabos resort, state of Baja California, Mexico, on January 5, 2014

...

Mr Bermudez, who works for Mexico's National Natural Protected Areas Commission, or CONANP, described the discovery as "exceptionally rare".

"It's the first record we have of this event in the history of whale censuses we've conducted since 1985," he told the EFE news agency.

...
I've seen posts on news sites speculating that it might have something to do with Fukushima. However, since the bizarre looking double corpse was found in the Gulf of Mexico, I can't help thinking that the recent BP Gulf oil disaster might be a more obvious culprit. Could just be a freak coincidence or Mother Nature's eccentricity, of course.
 
Pietro_Mercurios said:
However, since the bizarre looking double corpse was found in the Gulf of Mexico, I can't help thinking that the recent BP Gulf oil disaster might be a more obvious culprit. Could just be a freak coincidence or Mother Nature's eccentricity, of course.
No, not the Gulf of Mexico, the WEST coast of Mexico (Baja California).

As the article says, "Every year, thousands of gray whales swim south from the US state of Alaska to warmer waters in Mexico where they mate and give birth."

According to Wiki, "The gestation period for gray whales is approximately 13 1/2 months." Make of that what you may.
 
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