In 2016 a mushroom hunter discovered a conjoined white-tailed fawn in a Minnesota, US forest, is being hailed by researchers as a landmark case among oddities in nature. According to a recent study published in the science journal American Midland Naturalist, the fawns which were stillborn are believed to have been the first recorded case of a conjoined two-headed deers to have reached full term. The hunter contacted the Minnesota DNR and the fawns were frozen until a necropsy could be conducted.

Lou Cornicelli, co-author of the study and a wildlife research manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources told Fox9 said, “It’s never been described before. There are a few reported cases of two-headed ungulate foetuses, but nothing delivered to term. So, the uniqueness made it special.” According to study co-author Gino D’Angelo, a researcher at the University of Georgia, lab tests including a CT scan and MRI, revealed the fawns had two separate head-neck regions which re-joined along the spine. The fawns had normal fur, heads and legs, but internally had a shared liver, extra spleens and gastrointestinal tracts.

Rare Wildlife Birth: Two-headed Conjoined Stillborn Deer

Two-headed conjoined fawns. (Photo Credits: Roger Sasser/Facebook)

D’Angelo said, “Their anatomy indicates the fawns would never have been viable. Yet, they were found groomed and in a natural position, suggesting that the doe tried to care for them after delivery. The maternal instinct is very strong.” Conjoined twins are commonly found in domestic animals, especially cattle and sheep but are rare in other wildlife, according to D’Angelo.

The conjoined fawns have since been mounted on a bed of greenery by Wild Images in Motion Taxidermy at Minnesota DNR headquarters in St and will now be placed on public display, according to Fox9. “We all thought it was pretty neat and were glad to be able to show it to the public,” Cornicelli told Fox9. “The taxidermists, Robert Utne and Jessica Brooks did a great job with the mount and treated it very respectfully.” The fawns will have positioned as it was just waking up from a slumber.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 14, 2018 01:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).