By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

In a freak accident of nature, a two-headed calf was born May 2 to a cow on the Craig Benning farm west of Goessel.

Benning said the mother struggled to give birth, and after an hour, he called the veterinarian for assistance. However, the calf was born before the vet arrived.

“I was surprised it was still alive,” Benning said.

The calf’s two heads were joined at the back. Each head had separate eye movements but they breathed together. When the calf sucked milk through one mouth, some of the milk dribbled out of the other, indicating a common throat.

The calf was understandably uncoordinated. It struggled to get up but could not stand on its own. It died after two days.

Benning said an IV might have saved the calf, but it probably was a good thing that it died.

“I’ve been involved with cattle all of my life and have never seen anything like it,” Benning’s wife, Joyce, said.