Uttar Pradesh-This extraordinary footage shows a cow born with human-like facial features which villagers flocked to worship as a Hindu god.

The calf was delivered in an animal shelter in India with eyes, nose and ears that resemble a human but died within an hour of its birth.

As news of the cow’s features spread, locals from surrounding villages flocked to Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, northern India in the belief it was an avatar of Lord Vishnu.

Video shows people offering flower garlands and bowing before the animal, which has been kept in a glass box since its death, to seek its blessing.

Villagers believe the calf is the ‘Gokaran’ - 24 incarnations of Lord Vishnu and plans are now afoot to build a temple for him.

Mahesh Kathuria, 50, a local businessman who came to see the calf, said: “God has taken birth from the body of a local cow.

“We came here to seek his blessings. Religiously, it is an avatar of Vishnu. We believe it’s a similar character mentioned in Bhagavata Puran, a Hindu religious text.”

Raja Bhaiya Mishra, 55, the manager of the cow shelter, said: “It’s a miracle that the calf was born in this shelter.

“Thousands of people have been here to see it. We will be cremating him in three days and a temple will be built for him.

“This avatar has most definitely created a devotion feeling amongst the people.”

He added that the mother was rescued from a butcher and was brought to the shelter six months ago before she fell pregnant.

However, animal health experts have a different view on its birth and rubbishes any superstitions surrounding it.

Dr Ajay Deshmukh, senior veterinary doctor, at Wildlife SOS, in India, said: “This is a case of an anatomical anomaly.

“If a gene didn’t develop properly or there was a fault, it causes multiple structural deformities, and such anomalies happen.”