After images of the monster began to circulate throughout the rural community of Lady Frere in Eastern Province, the superstitious residents believed it was part human.
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Dr Lubabalo Mrwebi, the Eastern Province’s Chief Director of Veterinary Services, acknowledged that the stillborn lamb resembled a human but was not part human.
Superstitious locals at the farming town of Lady Frere, in South Africa, believed the deformed creature was part human-part beast. Picture: Supplied
He said the lamb was infected with Rift Valley Fever early in the pregnancy, a fever-causing viral disease common in eastern and southern African sheep and cattle-raising regions.
“The deformed lamb exhibits signs that are consistent with an early foetal development that went wrong as a result of a viral infection and nothing more.
Chief Director of Veterinary Services Dr Lubabalo Mrwebi confirmed the lamb resembled a human but was not part human. Picture: Supplied
“We can confirm this not a hoax photo but that the severely deformed lamb was born by a sheep in Lady Frere this week, which at a glance resembles a human form,” Dr Mrwebi said.
The lamb was born dead and is said to have suffered problems while developing in the womb
The Sun has reported a villager was quoted as saying: “The elders when they saw it said it was sent by the devil and was born after a coupling between a man and a sheep and then there was panic.
Panicked locals believe the deformed creature was sent by the devil, conceived by a coupling between a man and a sheep. Picture: Supplied
“Many people are afraid and will not be happy until it is burned” he said.
The Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development is doing a post-mortem on the lamb, and the results will be made available to the inhabitants of the rural community.