Cow 'starts eating sheep' on Kenya farm

© Suleiman Mbatiah/Nation Media Group
A dairy cow bites a merino sheep at Miti Mingi Village in Elementaita, Nakuru County, on April 22, 2015. The strange behaviour by the cow has left villagers and the owner in shock.

    

A farmer in Kenya says one of his cows has given up its usual vegetarian diet and started eating sheep.

Charles Mamboleo, who runs a farm in south-western Nakuru County, discovered the cow feeding on a sheep one morning, having apparently gored it to death, the Daily Nation website reports. Fresh food and water couldn't tempt the cow, and another sheep met its end the following day, the report says.

"After the first incident, we thought the cow was starving, so we increased the supply of fodder and water, but it still continued chasing after sheep," says Mr Mamboleo.

While cows are herbivores, developing a taste for meat could be a sign of a nutrient deficiency, according to a local agricultural officer. "The dry season, which has just ended, has seen most animals lack minerals found in green grass," Albert Kabugi tells the site.

In 2007, a calf in India's West Bengal region was filmed eating chickens. A local vet said he suspected a lack of vital minerals was also to blame in that case, noting that it could happen in "exceptional" circumstances.