Farmer left STUNNED as lamb is born with FIVE LEGS
A FARMER could hardly believe his eyes when he saw that one of his sheep had given birth to a lamb with five legs.
Omer Ozgul was shocked to discover one of his sheep had gave birth to a five-legged lamb
Omer Ozgul, who lives and farms at Belenardic in the Pamukkale district of western Turkey's Denizli Province, says people have been coming from far and wide to see the new arrival.
He has named the five-legged lamb Capar and said that it was the first time that he had seen anything like it in 15 years of sheep breeding.
Mr Ozgul said the lamb looked completely normal except for the extra leg protruding from its side, just behind its left front leg.
But he said that it had been a difficult delivery for the ewe which gave birth to the lamb.
Farmer Mr Ozgul first believed that the extra leg was a second lamb
The lamb's extra leg is unusual, it splits into two, but that is how it came into the world.
Mr Ozgul said: "I helped the sheep give birth, it was very difficult, it started in the early evening and went on into the night.
"At first I thought the extra leg was a second lamb but then I realised. The lamb's extra leg is unusual, it splits into two, but that is how it came into the world."
The farmer said that he had called a veterinarian as soon as he realised that the lamb had a fifth leg.
Omer helped the mother sheep with her difficult birth to the lamb
Mr Ozgul added: "I explained the situation and the vet told me the lamb had a chance to survive and told me not to cut it off myself but to bring it to him.
"I took it to him but he said that it was still too young and that he will amputate the extra leg when it is a bit bigger."
The ram lamb is likely to have his extra leg amputated when he is older
Animals can be born with extra limbs, a condition known as polymelia, for a number of reasons.
The most common is the partial development of a conjoined twin which ends up attached to the other twin.
Two-legged dog becomes town celebrity
But genetic mutations, injuries, toxins and infections during crucial stages of foetal development can also cause polymelia.