MYTHVILLE A small village in Assam, India, welcomed the birth of a one-eyed goat on May 10.
The goats appearance is something that I wouldve expected to be in the or not category when I watched Ripleys Believe It or Not circa 1982. (Admittedly, my little disbelieving kid heart had plenty of brothers who tried to trick me, so or not was my default.)
Its hard to look away from this little fellow, whether you feel fascination, repulsion, curiosity, or a combination of everything.
Lest you ascribe some higher meaning to a goat born with one eye, lets get down to the facts of the matter. This baby goat was born with a rare defect that occurs both in the animal kingdom and in humans. Its called cyclopia, which is a condition where two orbits for the eye fail to form. According to the National Geographic video, a likely factor for cyclopia is the presence of high levels of toxins during pregnancy.
Sadly, the condition often comes with other malformations and other health conditions. This means that most humans born with cyclopia will not live to adulthood, and most animals born with the defect usually only live a few days.
The goats owner, Mukhuri Das, said the goat has attracted many visitors to his village, according to Barcroft Animals. He also believes that the birth of the goat will bring him luck.
Its my responsibility to take care of the baby goat. I have been feeding him like a normal goat, Das said.
As of the writing of this article, the baby goat as surpassed its life expectancy.
The goats appearance is something that I wouldve expected to be in the or not category when I watched Ripleys Believe It or Not circa 1982. (Admittedly, my little disbelieving kid heart had plenty of brothers who tried to trick me, so or not was my default.)
Its hard to look away from this little fellow, whether you feel fascination, repulsion, curiosity, or a combination of everything.
Lest you ascribe some higher meaning to a goat born with one eye, lets get down to the facts of the matter. This baby goat was born with a rare defect that occurs both in the animal kingdom and in humans. Its called cyclopia, which is a condition where two orbits for the eye fail to form. According to the National Geographic video, a likely factor for cyclopia is the presence of high levels of toxins during pregnancy.
Sadly, the condition often comes with other malformations and other health conditions. This means that most humans born with cyclopia will not live to adulthood, and most animals born with the defect usually only live a few days.
The goats owner, Mukhuri Das, said the goat has attracted many visitors to his village, according to Barcroft Animals. He also believes that the birth of the goat will bring him luck.
Its my responsibility to take care of the baby goat. I have been feeding him like a normal goat, Das said.
As of the writing of this article, the baby goat as surpassed its life expectancy.
