A pig has given birth to a ‘human-like’ piglet that ‘cries like a baby’.
The mutant offspring was the fourth in a litter of eight.
Its siblings had no deformities.
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The pig’s owner Alfredo Cardinas Jr said: “I was scared when I first saw it”.
He added: “I was even more shocked when I heard it cry.
“It sounded like it came from a child.”
The piglet was born at Alfredo’s home in Tanjay, located south of Manila in the Philippines.
Alfredo shared a clip of the mutant animal on Facebook that went viral with 1.5 million views and nearly 1,000 comments.
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The footage shows the piglet with a human-like face, but apparently without any eyes.
Alfredo placed the infant swine on a blanket on the ground as it seemed unable to support its own weight.
He put an old sack underneath the weak piglet as it appeared to struggle for breath.
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Sadly, Alfredo said the young animal died just four hours after birth.
Local veterinarian Dr Ma Christine Hope Dejadena said: “The case is rare as its siblings were unaffected.”
The vet also denied claims that the piglet’s mother could have been impregnated by a different animal.
She stated: “The pig would not get pregnant from a different species.”
Veterinarian Dr Aris Miclat said the piglet was probably born with a defect known as holoprosencephaly.
He stated: “This is a congenital malformation, which is technically a birth defect.”
“It’s a cephalic disorder in which the forebrain fails to develop into two hemispheres.”
Dr Miclat said the mother may have been exposed to chemicals or pesticides while pregnant, affecting her piglet’s development in the womb.
He added: “Almost always, this particular case is fatal.”
The vet also ruled out the possibility of the piglet being the product of interbreeding between the mother pig and a human.
Alfredo said it wasn’t the first time the sow had given birth to a piglet with abnormalities.
He claimed she had previously given birth to a youngling that appeared to have wings protruding from its body, as reported by What’s The Jam.
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