Pig owner Alfredo Cardinas Junior was left “shocked” and initially “scared” after one of his piglets was born looking and sounding like a human child without eyes
A pig gave birth to a “mutant” piglet that let out a cry that resembled that of a human child.
The “human-like” piglet was the fourth in a litter of eight. None of its siblings are reported to have had any deformities.
Its owner, Alfredo Cardinas Jr, was left feeling frightened when it was born but what was to come next left him feeling “shocked”.
He explained: “I was scared when I first saw it. I was even more shocked when I heard it cry. It sounded like it came from a child.”
The piglet was born at Alfredo’s home in Tanjay, located south of Manila in the Philippines. His video of its unusual cry has more than 1.5 million views on Facebook.
The video shows the piglet with a “human-like” face and no eyes. Alfredo says he placed the young swine on a blanket on the ground as it struggled to support its own weight.
A piglet was born looking and sounding like a human
Alfredo was left “scared” after his piglet was born resembling a person
The infant piglet was then placed on an old sack as it struggled to breathe. It died just four hours after its birth.
Local veterinarian Dr Ma Christine Hope Dejadena says it is rare that only one piglet is affected by a birth defect. She however ruled out the pig’s mother being impregnated by a different species.
She said: “The pig would not get pregnant from a different species.” Instead, it is believed the piglet was born with a rare birth defect known as holoprosencephaly.
Vet Dr Aris Miclat explained: “This is a congenital malformation, which is technically a birth defect. It’s a cephalic disorder in which the forebrain fails to develop into two hemispheres.”
Dr Miclat believes the most likely explanation is that the mother was exposed to chemicals or pesticides while pregnant, something that would affect the piglet’s development in the womb. He said: “Almost always, this particular case is fatal.”
The vet also ruled out the possibility of the piglet being the product of interbreeding between the mother pig and a human. Alfredo says it wasn’t the first time his sow had given birth to a piglet with abnormalities.
The piglet was the only one in its litter to have birth defects
He had previously had a piglet that was born looking as though it had wings protruding from its body. Alfredo however believes the animal brought his family luck, as he was able to invest in a cow and a phone shortly after its birth.
A study found almost three percent of piglets are born with birth defects. At least one piglet is said to have a defect in around 17 percent of litters.
A majority of those with a birth defect died within a week of being born. While the average litter lost two piglets – with the usual litter made up of 10 babies.
