A mutant lamb with a leg on its head was born in Australia

Australian farmer Sam Kuerschner has been breeding sheep for many years for subsequent shearing and wool production. In his difficult business, something interesting rarely happens, but recently he noticed a real mutant in his herd. One day, among the lambs belonging to him, he noticed an individual on whose head an additional leg had grown. Judging by the behavior of the animal, the fifth limb does not bring him any inconvenience — while the cub is actively playing with his peers, it just hangs from side to side. The man was invited to radio and television, where he told more about the grown mutant. And scientists, in turn, explained the reason for the occurrence of such a frightening mutation at first glance. It turns out that this can happen to a person.

Many publications have shared details about the mutant lamb, but I found most of the information from the United Press International news agency. According to farmer Sam Kershner, a fully formed leg has grown on the lamb's head. There are bones and joints inside it, and at the end there is something like a hoof. During games, the leg just dangles from side to side, so it is unlikely to be attached to the head through the bone joint. Most likely, there is only soft tissue between the head and the extra leg. This means that, if necessary, the lamb can be rid of an extra leg by performing a simple surgical operation.

But the farmer is unlikely to subject the lamb to such torment. According to ABC News, he is going to wait for the moment when the cub stops needing its mother's milk. As soon as he becomes at least a little adult and independent, Sam Kershner will let him into his own house. He has a spacious dwelling with a yard, so that the animal can freely frolic on the farmer's personal territory. And three children, according to him, will gladly surround the lamb with care.

The man wants to give the lamb the name Bailey Smith (Bailey Smith) in honor of one of the players of the Australian football club Western Bulldogs. This player wears a dubious hairstyle called "mallet", when a person's hair is cut short in front and on the sides, while the back remains very long. The farmer believes that the fifth leg of the lamb looks the same as this unusual hairstyle. The only problem is that his new pet is female. But a man still wants to give him a man's name, because it fits best.

What is polymelia?

In science, a mutation that leads to the growth of extra limbs is called polymelia. To be more precise, this is a congenital disease that occurs due to abnormalities in embryonic development. As a rule, this phenomenon occurs in the case when the embryo developed as a Siamese twin. But one of the twins sometimes degenerates so much that only a few body parts remain of him. Perhaps the lamb should have had a brother or sister merged with him, but only a small leg remained of him. Not only animals, but also people can be born with additional limbs.

According to veterinarian Paul Nilon, the birth of such an animal is a very rare phenomenon. The probability of the birth of such an organism is only 1 in 200,000. Moreover, usually additional parts of the body are feet or hooves growing on the side of the shin. Previously, the veterinarian had seen only one case of leg growth on the animal's head. The incident that occurred on Sam Kershner's farm is the second in the history of his observations.

As I mentioned above, polymelia also occurs in humans. For example, in 2007, a boy with four legs was born in one of the African villages. Then the representative of the Ministry of Health Putu Seloba (Phuthu Seloba) noted that this is a very rare phenomenon and local doctors will do everything possible so that the child can live a normal life. Unfortunately, information about the further fate of this boy could not be found. A similar case was recorded in Zambia in 2003. Then the woman gave birth to a girl with four legs and three arms. At least, all this was previously reported by RBC.