The steaks were thick when Lilli the six-legged cow went under the knife to have her extra limbs removed. After all, she was in grave danger. However, the surgery was a success, and Lilli, who was born with six legs on a farm in Weissenburg, Switzerland, is recovering in an Alpine animal refuge. After being born on February 14 in the Simmental area with two additional legs connected to her shoulder, the newborn cow made headlines throughout the world.

On June 14, veterinarians in Bern performed the surgery. They removed the legs and detected a bend in the cow’s spine during a four-hour treatment that cost £1,300. However, they stated that she had no di.sa.bilities and has now recovered fully.

The calf has now been sent to the Gut Aiderbichl, an Alpine animal protection center in Henndorf am Wallersee, Salzburg, Austria. ‘Lilli is healing from surgery and regaining her appetite. ‘On Friday, she was taken to Salzburg,’ claimed Michael Aufhauser, proprietor of Gut Aiderbichl. ‘She’s joyful, interested, and having fun getting to know the other cows.’ Mutations are not as uncommon as previously assumed, with a three-legged cat and a two-headed lamb born in Georgia earlier this year.

In January, a piebald lamb with four front legs and two rear legs was born in Velistsikhe, Georgia. Unlike Lilli, it appears to have some control over all of its limbs. According to veterinarian Auto Zardiashvili, the mutation might be the result of problems during conception. ‘Most likely there were twins, but the embryos were joined, and we have an unusual lamb,’ Mr Zardiashvili explained.

A lamb with six legs, four in front and two in the rear, was born on a farm in Belgium in 2006. A two-legged lamb was born in China in August 2010. The lamb was supposed to be murdered, but when the farmer observed the lamb’s will to survive, she abandoned the plan and kept him as a pet.