Elders at a remote South African village are convinced that a deformed, still-born lamb, which vaguely resembled a human, was “sent by the devil” and born out of bestiality and witchcraft.
Found in the farming town of Lady Frere, in the South African Eastern Province, the creature was believed to be part human by superstitious locals. This notion picked up pace as images of the deformed lamb snowballed through social media.
Chief Director of Veterinary Services in the area, Dr Lubalbalo Mrwebi, confirmed the lamb resembled a human but was not part human.
He drew the conclusion that the lamb was infected with Rift Valley Fever early in the pregnancy.
Rift Valley Fever is a fever-causing viral disease, generally found in regions of eastern and southern Africa and effects many sheep and cattle.
“The deformed lamb exhibits signs that are consistent with an early foetal development that went wrong as a result of a viral infection and nothing more,” Dr. Mrwebi 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.”
According to The Sun, a villager said: “The elders when they saw it said it was sent by the devil and was born after a coupling between a man and a sheep and then there was panic.”
Animal birth mutations, although rare, are not unheard of. Over the years the internet has received many images of deformed animals, from two-headed pigs to eight-legged goats. These strange conditions are normally brought on from disease or biological complications within the mothers’ womb.
The Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development veterinary officials are currently conducting a post-mortem on the lamb, and the results will be provided to the remote town’s citizens.
