Calf born with 2 extra legs attached to its neck
Here's a story with legs: A calf was born with an extra set of limbs, but otherwise seemingly healthy, at a North Dakota ranch.
Rancher Gerald Skalsky said he was surprised when the calf was born Wednesday with two small legs hanging off one side of its neck.
"I've been ranching my whole life, and I've never seen anything like it," Skalsky told The Bismarck Tribune. Skalsky said he plans to have the calf's extra limbs surgically removed.
State Veterinarian Susan Keller said the calf may have been born with one of two disorders: polymelia, where extra limbs are often smaller or shrunken, or polydactyly, which is the result of genetic combinations involving recessive genes.
Keller said such defects are an "important topic that producers should not be afraid to report to their veterinarian and to all breed associations."
Sheridan Animal Hospital veterinarian Gerald Kitto, a member of the North Dakota Board of Animal Health, said he's seen only three or four calves with an extra limb during his 42 years of practice.
While this is a rare occurrence, Skalsky's calf isn't the first to make headlines this year for having an extra pair of limbs. In March, National Geographic's veterinarian show "The Incredible Dr. Pol" featured a young cow with a virtually identical condition. That calf was confirmed to have been born with polymelia.