Rare Baby 'Cyclops' Goat Miraculously Survives, Despite Grim Odds

<div><p>A baby goat was born with a condition so rare, experts gave him only days to survive. </p><p>On May 10, a baby goat was born in Assam, India, with a single enormous eye smack-dab in the center of its face. The genetic condition causing his strange mutation is called cyclopia, and it is often accompanied by several other physical deformities. </p><p>The tiny goat's condition affects the development of his brain, eyes, skull, nose and mouth.</p><div><figure><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/rare-cyclops-goat-born-india-video/" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/170518-india-cyclops-goat-vin_640x360_947383875514.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/05/170518-india-cyclops-goat-vin_640x360_947383875514_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/rare-cyclops-goat-born-india-video/" target="_blank">National Geographic</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>In the womb, the baby goat's brain failed to separate into two hemispheres, which caused a ripple effect throughout the head's physical development.</p><p>He was born with one single eye socket, no eyelashes, no eyelid, one year, a severely shortened jaw, and an underdeveloped nose. </p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>Although genetics are the most common reason behind cyclopia, toxins eaten by the mother during pregnancy can also cause the deformity.</p><p>Local veterinarians aren't sure what exactly caused this kid's cyclopia, but they took one look at the little goat and predicted that it would die within a few days. Miraculously, 8 days later, it's still alive under the care of Mukhuri Das, its owner.</p><p>"I believe this goat will bring luck to my home," Das said.</p><amp-iframe sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin" layout="responsive" frameborder="0" height="9" width="16" src="https://assets.ngeo.com/modules-video/latest/assets/ngsEmbeddedVideo.html?guid=0000015c-1cfc-d3f8-afdc-dfffa7700000"></amp-iframe><p>[h/t <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/rare-cyclops-goat-born-india-video/">National Geographic</a>]</p></div>