A piglet has been born that, amazingly, appears to have the face of a monkey, much to the confusion of locals.
The Daily Mail report that the pig’s deformity gave it a “simian jaw, a considerably shorter snout and a protruding forehead”, all of which gave the pig an eerily monkey-like face.
The animal’s strange appearance led to it being called the ‘monkey pig’ online, after images of the creature surfaced on social media and quickly went viral.
The pig’s bizarre face has baffled locals and experts who have been speculating on what caused the mutation.
A video of the strange creature being held by its owner as people clamber to look at it in the city of Ciego de Avila in central Cuba has also emerged.
Before the pig died, at just four days old, it became a local tourist attraction, with people coming from across the area to take photos of the unfortunate creature.
The piglet’s owner took the poor animal to a vet who said it had been born with a congenital defect, which caused its strange appearance and early death.
Experts have speculated that the pig may have been suffering with ‘holoprosencephaly’, a brain development disorder which can cause the failure of eyes to properly separate.
Others have blamed the mutation on environmental pollution. However, experts say it may be that such odd deformities have always happened, it’s just that people are more aware of bizarre goings-on around the world nowadays because social media makes them more widely known.
This isn’t the first recorded ‘monkey pig’ – in 2008, a pig owned by a family in Fengzhang village, Xiping township in China was born with a similar looking face.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.