What do you get when you cross a goat and a sheep? One adorable little geep.
Paddy Murphy, a farmer and pub owner in Kildare, Ireland, found that he had a half-goat, half-sheep on his hands two weeks ago, when his ewe gave birth, the Irish Farmers Journal reported.
“It had all the hallmarks of a goat. I knew a goat had gotten in among a few of the hoggets, I didn’t know what would turn out," he told the outlet. "They were all normal lambs apart from this fella. He looks like a goat, trapped in a lamb’s body, a Geep I think it’s called! He even has horns like a goat and he is very quick on his feet. He’s perfectly healthy and thriving away."
Murphy said he's never seen anything like it before. A spokeswoman for the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said the live birth of a geep is a rare occasion, as most die during pregnancy or are stillborn, according to the BBC. The UFU does not know of any others currently in Northern Ireland.
In Botswana, a similar cross-breeding occurred between a female goat and a ram, the Irish Times notes. The animal was castrated at 10 months due to an overactive libido that made him a nuisance to the other goats and sheep.
Paddy Murphy, a farmer and pub owner in Kildare, Ireland, found that he had a half-goat, half-sheep on his hands two weeks ago, when his ewe gave birth, the Irish Farmers Journal reported.
“It had all the hallmarks of a goat. I knew a goat had gotten in among a few of the hoggets, I didn’t know what would turn out," he told the outlet. "They were all normal lambs apart from this fella. He looks like a goat, trapped in a lamb’s body, a Geep I think it’s called! He even has horns like a goat and he is very quick on his feet. He’s perfectly healthy and thriving away."
Murphy said he's never seen anything like it before. A spokeswoman for the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said the live birth of a geep is a rare occasion, as most die during pregnancy or are stillborn, according to the BBC. The UFU does not know of any others currently in Northern Ireland.
In Botswana, a similar cross-breeding occurred between a female goat and a ram, the Irish Times notes. The animal was castrated at 10 months due to an overactive libido that made him a nuisance to the other goats and sheep.
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