8 Extreme Animal Abnormalities

This article was written by Kirin Owens from odditiesbizarre. Check out their other article on some more unique animals here.

According to Science Daily, there are about 8.7 million species on Earth. The number of species on land is around 6.5 million. The number of species that live in the oceans is approximately 2.2 million. Of course, the 8.7 million does not include the many species that have yet to be discovered. Based on a fascinating study that was published by PLoS Biology, 86% of all species on land, and 91% of species that live in the seas have yet to be discovered.¹

With hundreds of thousands of creatures born in the world every day, the chances that there will be some born with a rare abnormality is inevitable. Also, due to various circumstances, some animals acquire abnormalities later in life. In this article, we will discuss 8 animals with rare abnormalities. The first 4 have severe deformities, and the last 4 have extra body parts.

4 Creatures With Bizarre Deformities

#1 Faith: A Two-Legged Walking Dog

Faith (December 22, 2002 – September 22, 2014) was a female dog who walked on two legs. Although she was born with 3 legs, just two were functional. The third leg was deformed. Not long after her third leg began to atrophy, veterinarians had recommended it be amputated.

Luckily, Faith was rescued and saved from her mother, who was caught trying to smother her deformed puppy.

Although Faith is not the only dog to be known for walking on just two legs, she is by far the most famous. Faith has been featured on a variety of shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, NOVA and Ripley’s Believe it or Not.²

Faith died at the age of 11. The cause of her death is unknown.

#2 Kenny: The Tiger With Multiple Deformities

Kenny (1998-2008) was a friendly white tiger who was rescued from a private breeder in Arkansas. In 2000, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge rescued him where he eventually met what was believed to be his brother named Willie. Kenny’s brother was an orange Bengal tiger with crossed eyes also rescued by wildlife charities.

Kenny is the result of inbreeding. His parents were brother and sister. Kenny was born with a short snout, a broad face and protruding teeth. What’s interesting is that despite the Internet being filled with articles saying Kenny had Down syndrome, there is no evidence he was ever diagnosed with the genetic disorder.³

In addition to living with deformities, Kenny also had many health problems, which included the removal of a massive tumor in 2007. He passed away in 2008. Kenny lived around half the lifespan of a normal tiger.

#3 Gemina: The Crooked-Neck Giraffe

Gemina (July 16, 1986 – January 9, 2008) was a giraffe who lived in the Santa Barbara Zoo in Santa Barbara, California. She became famous for having a strange deformity in her neck, which became noticeable at the age of 3. Her neck was bent by nearly 90 degrees between her C3 and C4 vertebrae. This particular deformity is so incredibly rare, it has not been documented in another giraffe since 1902. There is no known cause for Gemina’s neck deformity.⁴

Due to a shorter tongue than other giraffes, as well as limited peripheral vision, Gemina had to be fed separately. Regardless of her abnormalities, she managed to outlive the average giraffe by nearly 6 years. For the last month of her life, she stopped eating. Gemina’s old age resulted in health problems, and she was eventually euthanized.

#4 Impala With A Deformed Horn

Found on many sites around the Internet is an image of an impala with an extremely deformed horn. The animal was said to not be debilitated, nor did it look unhappy living with its deformity. Sources say the abnormality was likely caused by an injury during growth.

4 Animals Living With Extra Body Parts

#1 Frank and Louie: A Cat Who Lived A Long Life With Two Faces

Frank and Louie (September 8, 1999 – December 4, 2014) was a cat who lived an unusually long life with an extremely rare congenital disorder called diprosopus (also called craniofacial duplication). The disorder causes part or all of of the face to be duplicated on the head. It is caused by abnormal excess of the protein called SHH. Along with its corresponding gene, SHH is an important factor for signaling craniofacial patterning during the process of embryonic development. In 2012, Frank and Louie was named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest surviving janus cat.⁵

Since Frank and Louie had diprosopus, he was not expected to live more than a few days. Despite all odds against him, he managed to live to the age of 15.

The Features Of Frank And Louie:

⦁ One brain
⦁ Two faces
⦁ Two mouths. One mouth was funtional. The other mouth had no bottom jaw.
⦁ Two noses
⦁ Three eyes. The middle eye was non-functonal, nor did it blink.
⦁ One esophagus.

In November of 2014, the owner of Frank and Louie had him euthanized. He was likely suffering from an aggressive form of cancer.⁶

#2 Stumpy: The Four-Legged Duckling

In 2007, there was a duck born at the Warrawee Duck Farm, in the New Forest, Hampshire. Named “Stumpy,” the duck was born with four legs. Tucked behind his normal pair of legs were a second pair. The extra pair of legs did not stay on Stumpy’s body for too long. The same year he was born, he lost an extra leg when he caught it on a fence. In April, the following year, the third leg fell off. He eventually went on to live a life like any other duck.

The condition of Stumpy having four legs is believed to be caused by a rare mutation.

#3 Toby: The Two-Nose Dog

Toby is an Australian Shepherd born with two noses. After being abandoned by his previous owners, he was rescued by successful music producer and founder of the Venice Beach Freakshow Todd Ray. If it wasn’t for Ray, Toby would have been put down.⁷

Believe it or not, Toby’s extra nose is actually a functional one. Ray believes it is a bonus, as it appears to help the dog find his old chewed up ball. He also claims that despite how well something is hidden, Toby has no problems finding it.

#4 Oscar: The World’s First Bionic Cat

Oscar is a black cat from the Channel Island of Jersey. An accident in 2009 lead to him become the owner of two Guinness World Records. Oscar holds one world record for becoming the first animal with two bionic leg implants. He also owns a record for being the first animal to ever receive implants into its moving joints.

Why Did Oscar Need Implants?

When Oscar was 2, both of the paws of his hind legs were severed due to an encounter with a combine harvester. With hesitation, his owners decided to do what was never done before. Oscar went on to get prosthetic feet, which allow for simple placement of a sock to be fitted over them.⁸

In 2012, a reoccurring infection in Oscar’s right ankle caused his prosthesis to snap. Oscar was given another operation in 2013. The surgery was performed to implant what is called a PerFiTS (Percutaneous Fixation To Skeleton) amputation endoprosthesis, which went directly into his shinbone. Since the amputation of Oscar’s ankle prevented him from being able to wear a blade, his next mission was to find a new foot.

1. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110823180459.htm
2. http://www.wideopenspaces.com/top-10-weirdest-wildlife-deformities-ever-pics/
3. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tiger-with-down-syndrome
4. https://www.sbzoo.org/gemina-crooked-neck-giraffe-stands-tall
5. https://gizmodo.com/5916976/these-8-double-headed-animals-are-the-saddest-weirdest-things
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_and_Louie
7. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/12192656/Meet-Toby-Two-Nose-the-dog-with-two-noses.html
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_(bionic_cat)