A sheep has allegedly given birth to a ‘half-sheep half-human’ baby in Sokoto, Nigeria.

Local newspaper the Daily Sun reported that after vets delivered the odd-looking lamb at Fakon Idi Veterinary Clinic on 22 January, thousands of curious onlookers were drawn to the clinic.

The “mutant” sheep caused outrage among the gathered locals, reported the paper, believing the bloated "half-sheep half-human" to be the result of bestiality or witchcraft.

Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NCDSC) had to step in to disperse the crowd, who were demanding the owner of the sheep to identify himself.

However “mutant” looking lambs have been birthed before, notably in Turkey, when a sheep was helped by vets deliver a baby with a head that appeared to have human features. Although the lamb remained alive for some hours, spooked locals eventually slaughtered the animal.

In Nigeria, Vets from the Fakon Idi clinic were far more rational in their explanation for the lamb’s appearance

Dr Ismail Usman, who helped deliver the lamb, described the rumours going round about the baby as “embarrassing”.

“It was a surprise that people’s perspective could be so negative when it comes to scientific reasoning and thoughts," he told the Daily Sun.

He said it was more likely the lamb looked so strange because the sheep had been two days overdue and had suffered problems during the pregnancy.