Sunday, May 24, 2009

Calf Born with 7 Legs and 2 Spines Dies



STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colorado (AP) — It's an unlucky No. 7 for a calf born with a few extra legs in Colorado.

The Steamboat Pilot & Today of Steamboat Springs reports that a veterinary hospital helped deliver a seven-legged calf Thursday.

The staff at the Steamboat Veterinary Hospital said the Black Angus calf, which was delivered by Caesarean section, had two spines but one head. One leg also had two hooves.

The calf lived for only about 10 minutes.

Veterinarian Lee Meyring says the birth resulted from an incomplete splitting of the embryo into twins.

He says he had previously seen a calf with a fifth leg, but the seven-legged calf was the most bizarre he has seen.

The hospital says the calf's owners do not want to be identified.