DUBAI: A baby goat, born with what looks like a monkey’s head in Egypt has died after only two days of its birth.
According to local media, the birth of a goat with a monkey-like head has sparked great interest in Al Hedaya village in Assiut Governorate, Upper Egypt.
The owner said he was surprised how a goat he raised gave birth to a “strange creature.” Videos and photos of the goat have gone viral on social media.
While some have speculated that the goat is a result of inbreeding between the two species, experts say it is scientifically impossible.
Veterinarians interpreted this incident as a congenital defect, stressing the impossibility of a cross between monkeys and goats.
Mohammed Youssef, a veterinarian, said: “The birth of a goat with a monkey’s head is not possible. It is a congenital defect, not a monkey’s head.”
Dr. Iman Bakr, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Cairo University, said these are congenital malformations such as those that occur in humans, explaining that they are due to genetic reasons in the parents, or the mother’s exposure during pregnancy to toxins from the surrounding environment or exposure to a virus during pregnancy.
