Montana cow gives birth to twin calves from different dads

(Information in the following story is from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com)

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana cow recently gave birth to twin calves from different fathers -- a genetic oddity that occurs only once in every 5,000 cattle births.

The Great Falls Tribune reports that a Black Angus cow near Cut Bank apparently gave birth to one gray calf and one black calf on Sunday. According to a Montana State University genetics professor, genetic testing would be needed to confirm the calves' parentage, but it's very likely they had different fathers given their physical characteristics.

Twins can be born from different fathers in most mammals, including humans. It's more common among smaller mammals like cats and dogs, but rarer as the size of the animal increases.

According the cow's farmer, the mother favors the lighter-colored calf.

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