Monkey-Faced Piglet Born in China

Piglet 'with face of a monkey' born in China



The animal has a simian jaw, bulging forehead, small snout and eyes that are so close together that they appear almost attached.

It's front legs are much shorter than it's back legs, causing it to hop rather than walk on all fours like a normal piglet.

The animal was one of five piglets recently born to a sow owned by a family in Fengzhang village, Xiping township.

"It's hideous. No one will be willing to buy it, and it scares the family to even look at it," owner Feng Changlin told the Oriental Today newspaper.

But the monkey-piglet has become something of a local tourist attraction, with people coming from across the area to photograph it's remarkable features.

And not everyone in the family is disgusted by it's appearance.

"Our son likes to play with it, and he stopped us from getting rid of it. He even feeds it milk," said Mr Feng's wife.

The piglet's rare condition is thought to be caused by a form of holoprosencephaly, a brain development disorder that can cause cyclopia, the failure of eyes to properly separate.