A rare, two-headed calf was born in northern Peru on 18 August. The calf was born without complications at Edward Villegas Rubio's stable in Bambamarca in the country's Cajamarca region.

Curious locals came by to see the interesting-looking creature first-hand in addition to inspectors from Peru's Agricultural Ministry. The calf, whose two heads are attached together, has four eyes and two snouts.

Clodomiro Becerra, who lives nearby, said that the bicephalic calf's main difficulties are that it can't feed naturally and that the weight of the two heads prevent it from being able to stand up on its own.

"As you can see the animal is pretty healthy, it's alive. The only problem is it can't stand up, it can't feed by itself and when it tries to move its tongue, both tongues move at the same time," he said.

The cause of the calf's deformity is up for debate. Experts are floating the possibility the two heads are the result of antibiotics containing corticosteroids taken by the animal during its gestation that could have resulted in the melding together of two twins. Experts are also saying, according to local media, the phenomenon is the result of a genetic malformation. Finally, the experts are expressing doubt the two-headed cow was caused by local contamination from mines in the area.

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