The 2 headed calf born on local beef farmer Les Cladwell's farm, examined at the University of Guelph.
But that wasn't the case when local beef farmer Les Caldwell's cow gave birth to a two-headed calf.
Caldwell says he was shocked by the discovery, and after consulting a local vet, determined that the best course of action was to euthanize the animal, who couldn't even stand.
"It couldn't stand or function properly, so the most humane thing to do, unfortunately, was put it down. I don't want to see an animal, or anything for that matter, suffer," says Caldwell.
After the animal was euthanized, it was sent to the University of Guelph, and after a post mortem, it was determined that the rest of the animal seemed completely normal after the head. It had four legs, a tail, and two ears. However, the animal was born with four eyes, two noses, two esophagus and even two separate brains.
This type of occurrence is rare, with some studies suggesting that Caldwell would have had a better chance of winning the lottery 14 times. Caldwell says a friend mentioned this to him, and he thought maybe it was a sign.
"I thought I maybe should grab some lottery tickets if that's the case! If it is as rare as they suggest, maybe I should try my luck," he says.
Those studies also suggest it was more likely to be struck by lightning 500 times, or be eaten by a shark 35 times, saying this type of birth irregularity is very rare, particularly in North America.
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