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The picture of a monstrous Mountain Lion found in Idaho has gone viral. The internet is frightened by the bizarre animal, while scientists are trying to figure out which could be the cause of this sad condition which the animal found itself in.
The animal was killed by a hunter who started chasing the lion mountain after it had attacked somebody’s property and a dog. Using hounds in order to keep track of the lion mountain the hunter caught it close to the Utah boarder. The dog which the lion attacked managed to escape alive, with some puncture wounds, and is now recovering.
After the incident the hunter reported what happened to the conservation office, Idaho Fish and Game, as it is required by law. The man had a valid license so he had every right to shoot the animal. He does not need to leave the corpse of the animal to the conservative office, but biologists from Idaho Fish and Game hope that the man will return the carcass in order to analyze the mountain lion in detail.
From what the biologists have noticed so far the animal did not only present a second full set of fangs, but also a new pair of whiskers. Zach Lockyer, a biologist from Idaho Fish and Game, noted that the fangs rose from hard tissue and they were on the left side of the animal’s forehead.
Among the scientists’ speculations regarding the cause of this deformity is the possibility that the mountain lion had a twin that died in the womb. Sometimes there have been cases in the surviving twins absorb the tissue of the other twin that does not manage to survive.
Another possible explanation could be the presence of a teratoma tumor. These types of tumors are rare, but scientists have met them before not only in animals, but also in humans. A teratoma tumor represents a growth of tissue which forms teeth, hair and even limbs. If this was the case scientists are surprised to see that the animal could survive into young adulthood. However it is not clear that the deformity is the result of a tumor.
Image Source: miseeharris.com
