Belgian cow gives birth to calf with two heads

Jean-Baptiste Collard, a Belgian farmer, got the shock of a lifetime when one of his cows gave birth to a calf with two heads. Mr Collard oversaw what he expected to be a normal birth with the help of a local vet at his farm in Flamisoul, Belgium, last week.

But he got more than he bargained for. The mutant has two separate heads but only one brain, meaning both heads react simultaneously. It also has four eyes and two mouths but only one pair of ears.

Surprised Mr Collard said: "I called the vet because when my cow was in labour, I noticed the birth might get complicated. The calf seemed too big. The legs came out first, so we put a rope around them and pulled the calf out, as usual.



"But then the vet cried out: 'It has two heads!'" I immediately thought: 'what an exit present for me, I'm thinking about retiring and now this happens'."

"After an hour, I could slowly give it a bottle of milk. That's when I noticed both tongues react at the same time. The vet later explained this is due to the fact that the calf only has one brain. I hope it goes well with my new calf, I'm already attached to it, it's like a baby to me. And I see the mother is also crazy about her."

The mother and calf are presently both well but the future of the calf is uncertain.