Animal Oddity – Deformed Lizard Rat Photograph: Fact Check

Story:

Animal oddity – A Deformed Lizard Rat Photograph

Other Versions

1. Deformed Baby Goat

2. Demon Goat

3. Strange Mutant Animal

Fact Check:

A strange photograph is in circulation online purporting to show a case of animal oddity in a deformed Lizard Rat. Other versions claim the photograph shows a deformed baby goat, a demon goat or even a mutant species. The fact of the matter is – it is not any real animal.

Not Deformed Lizard Rat Photograph

The photograph in question is doing rounds online since many years with various descriptions, specifically a deformed species of animal. At first glance, it appears somewhat like a rat or rabbit in deformed shape. However, closer look at it reveals, the photograph does not show any real creature. It is a toy – you can see the white wire behind & leg stands beneath. You can see below another picture of Leelyah, the movie prop showing its mouth open, used in close-ups.

It is in fact a special prop made for science-fiction based Magic Mentah feature film called Amsteroid (2018). The movie features two brothers, one dreamy and starry-eyed and the other earthy and rational, searching for their mother in the asteroid city of Amsteroid. The photograph shows Leelyah, a bizarre animal prop that sniffs out people who have absorbed dark matter into their bodies. Leelyah is bit deformed due to the genetic engineering process.

So, the photograph does not show any strange animal – rat, lizard or goat – mutant or otherwise. There was also Baby Leelyah, a rod puppet that had to crawl a short distance.

Hoax or Fact:

Hoax.