Genetics today is perhaps the most popular of the sciences. She promises humanity a brilliant future - superpowers, like the X-men, deliverance from deadly diseases, and, in the end, immortality. Genetic mutations are increasingly seen as a path to salvation. But in nature, completely different mutations are more common - looking at which, anyone will shudder with horror. Seeing such monsters, you will not immediately forget them!
Two-headed snake We
We are a rattlesnake with a rare genetic mutation. She not only has two heads, but also two complete sets of genitals - male and female. I must say, similar mutations in snakes have been observed more than once, while cases have been recorded when one of the heads tried to devour the other. This particular specimen, named We, was purchased by the St. Louis Aquarium for $ 15,000. Eight years later, the aquarium tried to sell it for 150,000. But the auction failed, and We got the biotechnology laboratory for a song. At the same time, We lived much longer than ordinary snakes, which was an amazing discovery for scientists: after all, in nature, animals with similar physical deformations usually die very quickly.
Rottweiler with vitiligo
We are a rattlesnake with a rare genetic mutation. She not only has two heads, but also two complete sets of genitals - male and female. I must say, similar mutations in snakes have been observed more than once, while cases have been recorded when one of the heads tried to devour the other. This particular specimen, named We, was purchased by the St. Louis Aquarium for $ 15,000. Eight years later, the aquarium tried to sell it for 150,000. But the auction failed, and We got the biotechnology laboratory for a song. At the same time, We lived much longer than ordinary snakes, which was an amazing discovery for scientists: after all, in nature, animals with similar physical deformations usually die very quickly.
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Rottweiler with vitiligo
Without scales, the snake no longer looks menacing, but disgusting and a little pitiful. She does not look like a formidable poisonous predator, but on some pathetic underground inhabitant like a mole rat. Researchers noticed the first hairless snakes in the population in the early 1990s. And lately they are more and more common. Scientists were able to figure out that this mutation occurs when closely related crosses occur in a close population for too long. That is why mutation is observed more often in captivity - scientists are engaged in breeding, trying to achieve a vivid expression of certain properties, but these experiments can go too far. I must say, despite the eerie appearance and seeming vulnerability of such snakes, the absence of scales practically does not prevent them from existing and does not affect their survival in the wild.
Pigzilla
Such pigs weighing half a ton were encountered several times by hunters in the forests of the United States. They received the nickname "Pigzilla" - in honor of the famous film monster. Pigzilla in this picture is a wild pig shot by a farmer in 2007. However, many who saw this photo expressed doubt that it was a wild pig, and not an obscenely overfed domestic boar. But in fact, and in another case, the gigantic size of the animal leaves no doubt that we are talking about some kind of genetic anomaly. I must say that Pigzilla is one of the most dangerous animals on this list, since such a monster naturally adds to its enormous weight and strength the aggressiveness and lack of fear of humans, characteristic of wild boars.
Chimera cat
This cat's name is Venus and she even has her own Instagram account. She became a world celebrity due to her external feature, which, according to many experts, is a manifestation of chimerism - that is, in other words, the presence of genetically dissimilar cells in the body. Scientists who studied the coexistence of genetically different material in one organism managed to reproduce this state in experimental animals, but in natural conditions, and even expressed in such a clear and ideally symmetrical form, it has so far been observed only in Venus.
True chimerism occurs when two different embryos for some reason merge during development, forming a single organism. However, some experts believe that in the case of Venus we are not talking about chimerism, but about mosaicism or even a simple coincidence and unusual coloring. But, one way or another, Venus is an extraordinary animal.
Montauk Monster
This strange and terrible animal, whose corpse was washed ashore in New York in 2008 by the ocean waves, made many flinch with fear and disgust. A bloated, hairless body, long teeth, a bluish-gray skin, short ears and powerful hind legs - this creature seemed to come straight from hell. The snapshot of the monster instantly spread across the network, giving rise to a lot of guesses about what kind of creature it was and how it got into our world. The most skeptical scientists, however, argued that the Montok monster was just a large raccoon, whose body was deprived of hair and deformed due to its long stay in the water. However, this conjecture, like others, has not been confirmed. We can only hope that this is a one-time mutation, and such monsters will no longer appear in the eyes of frightened humanity.
White Tiger Kenny
Mutations are common in nature, but artificial breeding often stimulates and spurs them on. So it happened with white tigers. White-skinned cubs are born only to parents who are related to each other, and after closely related crossbreeding continues for several generations. Scientists estimate that only 1 in 10,000 tigers in the wild are born with this genetic abnormality. In addition to their gorgeous skin color, they usually have a variety of health problems. Kenny in the photo is living proof of this. His mouth did not close and his brain was hypertrophied. Kenny died of cancer in 2008, ten years after scientists rescued him from the wilderness and placed him in a nature reserve. However, Kenny is not the worst case:other white tigers have more problems. Thickening of the paws, a split palate, various deformities of the body and limbs, and problems with the immune system - this is not a complete list. In addition, the white skin itself makes survival difficult - for a tiger devoid of camouflage color, it is much more difficult to sneak up on prey.
El chupacabra - goat vampire
Chupacabra is a creature that occupies an honorable place in the mythology of peasants in Mexico and Central America. According to legend, this terrible predator preys on domestic animals and sucks blood out of them to the last drop, leaving the meat intact. Chupacabra could be considered a mythological creature - if the corpses of unusual and terrible animals, which the peasants consider to be representatives of this mysterious species, had not been found several times in Mexico. True, some scientists believe that we are talking only about coyotes suffering from scabies and have lost the ability to catch wild prey because of this. But the corpses of the Chupacabras, on closer inspection, refute this assumption. Spikes on the back, a long rat-like tail, and unusual proportions do not in the least resemble a coyote. The most likely assumption today is,that the Chupacabras are carnivorous monkeys that came to Mexico from more southern regions and interbreed with some local species. However, the Chupacabra phenomenon is still waiting for genetic research.
Chimera peacock
Each of us saw colorful proud peacocks. White peacocks are also not uncommon. But this peacock is the rarest case: it is half white, half colored. Many people call him a semi-albino, but from a scientific point of view, this name is, of course, incorrect. Most likely, we are talking about chimerism or mosaicism. However, the peacock is so extraordinarily beautiful that if you are not a biologist, you can not look for a diagnosis, but simply admire it.
Frank and Louis
It is still unclear whether Frank and Louis should be considered two cats or still one. For two they have three eyes, two mouths, two noses and two ears, and the mustache grows, it seems, where it is necessary. They are not the only cats in history to have suffered from Janus syndrome, a genetic mutation that causes two faces to develop on one skull, which is most characteristic of cats. At the same time, of the two cat's mouths, only one works (the second has no lower jaw), and the third, central eye does not see anything. Frank and Louis' health is not good, and it is truly a miracle that the animal (or animals) managed to live to adulthood.
Rudy
The story of Rudy the pig is similar to that of Frank and Louis. Rudy got his first name from the owners, but when the employees of the animal shelter bought him, they gave him the name "Two", which suits him much better. Rudy had two spots, three eyes and two ears. Unlike Frank and Louis, all of this was housed in two practically shaped skulls, located on one neck. Like Frank and Louis, only one patch of Rudy worked, and his central eye could not see well. With two skulls in mind, this resulted in the piglet being unable to see what was directly in front of him, as it had a large blind spot ahead. In addition, due to the deformed body, it was difficult for the piglet to maintain balance, and he often fell. The owners even had to wear a helmet on him. Rudy bought the animal shelter from the owners for $ 5000,to save the mutant piglet from the fate of an outlandish freak in the local menagerie. But due to poor health, Rudy-Two did not live long.
Snake with one paw
This is not a lizard, but a real snake. She was found in a Chinese village and killed while trying to crawl into the house. Later, seeing her defect, they decided to save the snake. So she fell into the hands of scientists. So there is no reason to doubt the existence of this creature - material evidence is available. But what made her so? Most scientists attribute this defect to a mutation, others believe that the paw of the lizard eaten by this snake somehow took root in its body and even managed to grow through the skin. However, both versions look equally disgusting.
Three-in-one frogs
Such a mutant frog has been encountered only once in the United States. She had three fully formed heads on a common body and six limbs. In 2004, she was caught by a biology student who took her to a laboratory for study. But, alas, scientists failed to investigate the phenomenon. The frog somehow managed to get out of the terrarium and disappeared. According to eyewitness accounts (with which the story of her miraculous rescue is quite consistent), the monstrously swollen body and three heads did not interfere with her mobility, and she looked as healthy and active as frogs with the usual set of heads and limbs. However, it is not a fact that mankind will one day be able to find out the secret of this eerie mutation: no one else in the world has come across such frogs.
Eight-legged kid
In 2014, the most common goat owned by the Croatian farmer Zoran Paparic gave birth to three kids. Two of them were ordinary kids, but the third was born with eight legs. The rest of the kid was completely normal. Although veterinarians argued that he was unlikely to live even a week, the eight-legged goat lasted for several years. True, his legs remained weak, and he could not stand on them longer than the rest of the kids, and then he was clearly uncomfortable to move. According to experts, the mutation is most likely the result of closely related crossbreeding.
Buivologator
This creature was discovered in 2015 in a remote village in Thailand. No matter how difficult it is to believe it, it is a calf, however, covered with strong, pitch-black scales. The creature with the snout of a crocodile and the legs of a cow, in whose appearance the features of a reptile and a mammal were mixed, died immediately after birth, but remained in the photographs as the embodiment of a terrible nightmare. Only the inhabitants of the Thai village, where the monster was born, did not see anything terrible in her, saying that her appearance was a good sign of fate.