A tricephalic red angus cross calf was born at around two in the morning on Gordon Willner’s farm west of Davidson. It weighed 113 pounds. Representatives from Guinness World Records and Ripley’s Believe It or Not arrived upon Davidson to verify the birth of a three-headed calf.
Before the historic occurrence, it had been a typical day on the farm during calving season. Since the cow could give birth at any time, it was being kept under observation. It became apparent that the birth was not progressing as anticipated as her due date approached.
Willner felt the first head as he slid his arm into the cow, then the second. He thought it was a set of twins and asked for assistance. Dr. Olaf Lipro, a resident in large animal veterinary ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄɪɴᴇ at the University of Saskatchewan, answered the need for help. He undertook an inspection when he got to the farm and found that there were in fact two heads. When the birth didn’t go as planned, he decided to perform an emergency cesarean section.
After administering a topical anesthetic to the cow, Lipro carried out the surgery. Then, as he pulled the first hind leg out, he grabbed the second hind leg and attached it to a calving chain. The calf stayed still. He said he was caught off sᴜʀᴘʀɪsᴇ by the difficulty of getting the calf out. Since they were running out of time and the cow’s life was in danger, they had to move quickly to get the calf out safely. Lipro pulled on the shackles with a great deal of power. Finally, the calf was released.
He brought it out of the uterus and was amazed to see that what he thought was the first calf of a set of twins was in fact a three-headed calf. Although a three-headed calf was reported to have been born in Illinois in 1893, this may be the first instance in recorded history.
source: dailylifeworld.com
