Sheep gives birth to 'half-human half-animal' lamb in South Africa

Image for representational purpose only

New Delhi: In rarest of the rare, a sheep gave birth to a 'half-human half-animal' lamb in Eastern Province of South Africa.

Because of the birth of this creature, the residents and farmers of Lady Frere are living living in fear and elders said that the lamb was 'sent by the devil'.

Many villagers were convinced that bestiality and witchcraft had led to the birth of the 'half-human half-animal' lamb.

According to a report in Daily Mail, the villagers got panic so much that the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development sent out experts to carry out tests after pictures of it spread like wildfire through the community.

As per the reports, the Chief Director of Veterinary Services Dr Dr Lubabalo Mrwebi admitted that much that at first glance it did resemble a humanoid like shape but clarified that it was not part human.

He said, “We can confirm this not a hoax photo but that the severely deformed lamb was born by a sheep in Lady Frere this week which at a glance resembles a human form.”

The animal in question was nothing of that sort, but turns out to be a stillborn lamb born by a sheep who had been infected by a Rift Valley Fever at an early stage of its pregnancy.

Mrwebi said it was a time of plentiful rainfall which brings with it many mosquitoes and midges which are carriers of viruses that cause the Rift Valley Fever in sheep.

He added,“The resultant circulation of the virus in the blood found its way through the maternal blood into the uterus and the foetus, which was at a very critical stage of development. The infected foetus then, as a result, failed to form properly, leading to the deformity that it became. It does look like a human form but it is not part human at all.”

The department's veterinary officials is conducting a post-mortem and the results will be communicated to the supertitious villagers who are scared in the remote area.