A five-legged cow has been hailed a miracle because when pregnant women touch its fifth hoof they give birth to baby boys.
Raj
Pratap's three-year-old male calf, called Raju, has become famous in
Raipur, India, since a woman with four daughters touched the animal's
fifth hoof and begged for her next child to be a boy.
When she
gave birth to a twin boys in February this year, word soon spread that
the calf's fifth leg - a very rare condition which affects just one in
every five million cows - was 'lucky'.
Since news got out about the
fifth leg, Mr Pratap, a cattle herder, has been swamped by pregnant
women who pay to touch the hoof - with 30 women so far stumping up
around 500 rupees, around £5, for the privilege.
Amazingly, all
30 women have given birth to boys and Mr Pratap is so confident of his
'miracle calf' that he offers refunds if the baby born is a girl.
This
week, on Monday (Dec 23) the cow celebrated its 33rd baby boy after a
woman who touched its 'magical hoof' gave birth to triplets....all of
them boys.
Mr Pratap said: "All births have been positive and
have resulted in a son - and this week a woman gave birth to triplets,
all of them boys.
'I don't know why this has happened to us but Raju has a gift and I want to share it with the whole world.
'Some day I dream of taking Raju to Europe or America and making every couple there happy.'
In India boys are 'more valued' than girls as they have 'greater earning potential' to support the family.
The
parents of a bride are still expected to provide the groom with a dowry
of cash, jewellery and other luxury items before the wedding ceremony
can go ahead - despite it being outlawed in India since 1961.
One
woman, who gave birth to a boy in October this year but asked not to be
named, said: 'It is a gift from god - touching Raju's fifth leg has
blessed me with a boy.
'My whole family is so happy that I now have a beautiful son.'
Cows are considered sacred by Hindus who believe one of their most important gods Lord Krishna to have been a cattle herder.
Across
India they are allowed to roam the streets of towns and cities and it
is forbidden to move them, even if they are obstructing traffic.
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