A cute goat with extremely long ears has wowed social media users in Pakistan since his birth last month.
Simba, as the breeder Mohammad Hassan Narejo named the goat, was born at a farm in the southern city of Karachi on June 4 with ears as long as 46 centimeters (18.11 inches).
“My family and I couldn’t believe our eyes in the first place. We were so excited,” Narejo told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) on the phone from Karachi on Friday.
A little over a month after Simba’s birth, his ears are now 56 centimeters in length, much longer than the little goat’s own height, Narejo said.
“A part of (the) ears touches the ground when Simba walks. He has to drag them along,” Narejo elaborated.
The owner has found a solution to the problem. “I have got a sack stitched for Simba’s ears. I put them into that and wrap the sack around his neck.”
Life for the entire Narejo family has changed since the birth of Simba.
“My home has become the most sought-out place in Karachi this past month. I have been to at least a dozen of shows on TV and give numerous interviews to newspapers and television reporters every day,” Narejo said.
And moreover, he is receiving offers of millions of rupees (thousands of dollars) from breeders in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain to buy Simba.
“But I don’t want to sell my baby,” the proud owner said.
He has even wrapped paper around Simba's ears with verses from the Holy Quran to save Simba from an evil eye as some people do with their children in traditional religious families.
Narejo named the baby goat Simba because of his brownish skin tone that resembles that of a lion. “Also, my younger brother and I are fans of the animated character Simba the lion,” he added.
“I plan to preserve Simba's semen for artificial insemination so if, God forbid, he is no more his breed can continue,” Narejo said.
He feeds Simba milk three times a day and has taken other steps to ensure his well-being – a black thread around the animal's throat to ward off the evil eye.
“Evil eye can destroy a mountain. He is just a kid goat with celebrity status,” Narejo said.
