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He does look a bit like a panda, with thick black fur interrupted by a white belt around the middle, and an adorable white face with black ovals around the eyes. But newborn Ben moos just like the calf he is.
Ben is a miniature panda cow, reportedly one of only 24 in the world, born to a lowline Angus cow named Bella in a stall on a northern Colorado farm.
They're so small that they don't fit in a calf blanket, so we had to get him a lamb blanket, his owner, Chris Jessen told the Loveland, Colo., Reporter-Herald, as he prepared the calf for a cold day after the birth Friday morning.
Ben's father, Donovan, is a panda bull on the Jessen farm, weighing in at about 1,000 pounds, Jessen said. Ben is named after Jessen's brother, also a New Year's Eve baby.
He was the first person I called this morning, Jessen told the newspaper Friday.
Ben is the result of decades of genetic manipulation that give him his panda-like looks. Washington farmer Richard Gradwohl, who developed and trademarked the breed, said it's an eight-breed composite based on his previous work breeding miniature cows. His website features more information on various miniature cattle breeds.
Although the miniature cattle are considered pets, without practical uses about the farm, they can fetch up to $30,000, the Reporter-Herald said. Jessen told the Reporter-Herald he'll probably sell Ben, but hasn't set a price yet.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5p_ozGVirY&feature=player_embedded[/media]
Story link: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/02/rare-miniature-panda-calf-born-on-colorado-farm/
Ben is a miniature panda cow, reportedly one of only 24 in the world, born to a lowline Angus cow named Bella in a stall on a northern Colorado farm.
They're so small that they don't fit in a calf blanket, so we had to get him a lamb blanket, his owner, Chris Jessen told the Loveland, Colo., Reporter-Herald, as he prepared the calf for a cold day after the birth Friday morning.
Ben's father, Donovan, is a panda bull on the Jessen farm, weighing in at about 1,000 pounds, Jessen said. Ben is named after Jessen's brother, also a New Year's Eve baby.
He was the first person I called this morning, Jessen told the newspaper Friday.
Ben is the result of decades of genetic manipulation that give him his panda-like looks. Washington farmer Richard Gradwohl, who developed and trademarked the breed, said it's an eight-breed composite based on his previous work breeding miniature cows. His website features more information on various miniature cattle breeds.
Although the miniature cattle are considered pets, without practical uses about the farm, they can fetch up to $30,000, the Reporter-Herald said. Jessen told the Reporter-Herald he'll probably sell Ben, but hasn't set a price yet.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5p_ozGVirY&feature=player_embedded[/media]
Story link: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/02/rare-miniature-panda-calf-born-on-colorado-farm/
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