A lamb born with an incredibly rare disorder has become the newest member of a popular visitor attraction.
Staff at Whitehouse Farm near Morpeth, Northumberland, have welcomed a new lamb who was born with one extra limb. Five-legged lambs are extremely rare, happening to around one in a million of the animals each year.
Part-owner of the farm, Heather Hogarty, recalled how surprised she was upon welcoming the unique lamb into the world, Chronicle Live reports.
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She said: "You could see it as soon as it was born, it's on the front left side so it's just another leg that comes out of the shoulder.
"It is unusual, but animals having something a bit different does happen – we get many animals born with disabilities, but you don't see them as often, as sadly they get put down.
"We think as long as it is going to live a normal life, we will just keep it. We're just keeping an eye on this one at the minute, so it might have to have the leg removed."
Family-run Whitehouse Farm Centre has been open to the public since 1997 and is spread over 40 acres. The new five-legged lamb, who has yet to be named, was born almost a decade after another lamb was born with five legs, called Quinto.
Quinto's extra limb was located in the centre of its body which it eventually had removed. It went on to live a long life and even birthed some of its own lambs.
Ms Hogarty added: "We had one nine years ago but that leg was right in the centre of her stomach while this one comes out the shoulder and doesn't reach the ground.
"When the new lamb was born I was thinking it was Quinto reincarnated. She was born on April Fools' Day and people thought we had stitched it on as a joke."
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