A mushroom hunter's discovery of a conjoined white-tailed fawn in a Minnesota forest two years ago is being hailed by researchers as a landmark case among oddities in nature.
The fawns, which were stillboin the science journal American Midland Naturalist.
"It’s never been described before," Lou Cornicelli, co-author of the study and a wildlife research manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told FOX9. "There are a few reported cases of two-headed ungulate fetuses, but nothing delivered to term. So, the uniqueness made it special."
In two other previous cases of conjoined white-tailed deer fawns, neither made it through the full pregnancy.
Officials conducted lab tests on the fawns, which revealed the two had separate head-neck regions which rejoined along the spine. (Minnesota DNR)
The discovery was made in May 2016, when a mushroom hunter came across the twins about a mile from the Mississippi River in Freeburg, Minn., located in the southeast portion of the state. The hunter contacted the Minnesota DNR, and the fawns were frozen until a necropsy could be conducted.
Lab tests, including a CT scan and MRI, revealed the fawns had two separate had head-neck regions, which rejoined along the spine. The fawns had normal fur, heads, and legs, but internally had a shared liver, extra spleens, and gastrointestinal tracts, according to study co-author Gino D’Angelo, a researcher at the University of Georgia.
The fawns had normal fur, heads, and legs, according to researchers. (Minnesota DNR)
“Their anatomy indicates the fawns would never have been viable,” D’Angelo told UGA Today. “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.
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