A mutant goat with two heads and mouths which feed independently has been born on a farm in the US. The farmer was left stunned when one of her goats gave birth to a two-faced kid, which is alive and able to eat.
The incredible four-eyed creature was born on the Nueske family farm in Wittenberg, Wisconsin, the US after its mother was found struggling to deliver her offspring.
Jocelyn Nueske, who manages and milks the goats, said: “I noticed that the mother was having trouble having her second baby, which was completely normal.
“I started to assist her and I was very confused at first but then I realized the heads were attached and I was very shocked.
“It had four legs, two ears, four eyes, and two noses.”
“We have been milking goats for six years and never had anything like this.
“We usually have around 700 babies born each year and nothing like this has ever happened until now.”
Two-headed creatures can occur when an embryo splits as if to form twins, but it does not split completely.
It can also occur the other way around, with two separate embryos incompletely fusing to form a two-headed creature.
Few survive long enough to be born and fewer still live beyond that.
But the goat is alive and, in the new footage, can be seen trying to find his feet and walk.
He’s also been feeding with both heads.
The Nueskes don’t know what the odds are of him living to adulthood but are hoping to keep him as a pet.
“We’re not too sure about the survival rate,” said Jocelyn.
“We’re just doing the best we can to keep him strong and healthy, and hoping for the best.
“We are a very caring family farm, we try our best to help any animal we can.”
The goat has been named Janus, after a Roman god usually depicted with two faces.
And the family’s shock at his arrival is giving way to an interest in his future.
“We had never seen anything like it before,” said Jocelyn, “but our shock has turned into curiosity.”
It is not the first time a mutant goat has been spawned and named after a god.