Butterfly Is A 'Geep': Half Goat, Half Sheep
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Scottsdale petting zoo got an unexpected surprise -- one of their ewes gave birth to a "geep."
If you haven't heard of one, you're not alone. They're a half-sheep, half-goat hybrid and extremely rare.
At four days old, the animal was named Butterfly. Her mother, "Momma", is a sheep. Her dad "Michael" is a goat.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We were just amazed we couldn't believe what we were looking at," said Priscilla Motola.
Motola owns a petting zoo in North Scottsdale. Her sheep, goats, and pigs share the same pens.
At first, Priscilla wasn't sure if Butterfly was a goat or a sheep. Butterfly's hooves and head look like a goat, but her coat is wool like a sheep. Priscilla had to go online to find out what Butterfly was.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"First we noticed the wool, and then we thought "oh she's a sheep", but then we noticed the feet like a goat, and the little face looked like a goat," said Motola.
She had no idea that "Momma" was pregnant until she came out Sunday and found Butterfly.
"We had no idea they were involved," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sheep had 54 chromosomes, goats have 60, most geeps come out still born, but not Butterfly.
"We're all just in shock," said Motola.
And Butterfly's fur felt super soft -- kind of like a blanket.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Priscilla says she's going to keep her and try to learn as much about geeps as possible.
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