Jake's Outdoors

Six Legged Deer Found in Georgia

Veterinarians at Berry College, in Rome, Georgia, were brought a 6 legged deer after it was mauled by a dog.  The deer has two distinct pelvises and is actively trying to use one leg from each pelvis.  It appears to me that the fawn absorbed a twin in utero, but was not able to completely absorb the second twin.

You can also see a video of the six legged deer by clicking here. (I have found the video to be very slow, so be patient.)  The little guy can get around quite well.  They think he was doing fine until caught by the dogs.  He did have to have one of his two tails amputated because of the dog attack.

They are going to try to keep this fawn in captivity.  I am sure that his extra limbs would continue to make him susceptible to attack from predators.  He may end up at the University of Georgia to be studied.  I know that anomalies like this often don’t last long in nature…the whole survival of the fittest thing.  But it is kind of neat to see when it does happen.  I wonder if they will ever be able to figure out what caused this to happen.