Mutant hairless piglet born with ’elephant’s trunk’ on its face

Mutant hairless piglet born with ’elephant’s trunk’ on its face

Mangalore Today News Network

Mar 14, 2017: A mutant piglet with no hair and an "elephant trunk" on its face died shortly after being born and will now be used for scientific research.

A farmer, Li, first noticed the hairless piglet soon after its mother had given birth to a litter of 20.

Li’s pig farm, which is in Bengbu City in East China’s Anhui Province, has welcomed thousands of piglets in the past, but he had never seen one like this before.

The man was quoted as saying: "The piglet was very noticeable firstly because it did not have a single hair on its body, and secondly because it had a nose like an elephant trunk."

He added that the piglet did not survive for more than two hours, while none of its other siblings were affected by the apparent genetic mutation.

The rest of the litter are health and now happily enjoy their mum’s milk, but Li is still puzzled by his hairless mutant piglet.

Guo Boayong, director of the local Zhanggongshan Park Zoo, says the piglet does not have an elephant trunk and simply suffered a mutation while developing inside the sow.

The mutation could have happened as a result of one of many external factors, the director added, saying that it would have been very difficult for the animal to survive.

But as the precise reasons behind such mutations are still unclear, Li’s "elephant calf" piglet will be donated to researchers for the purpose of scientific study.