A young boy looks like a real-life werewolf, with hair enveloping his face and body, all due to a one-in-a-billion medical anomaly.
Dubbed potentially as the world’s hairiest baby, his mother’s peculiar theory blames her “cursed” pregnancy craving for her son’s condition, The Sun reports.
Jaren Gamongan from Apayao, the Philippines, was born with a full head of hair, black sideburns, and patches that filled his face, neck, back, and arms.
His superstitious mum, Alma, believed the boy’s appearance was due to a curse wrought upon her when she ate a wild cat while pregnant with the child.
Despite Alma’s beliefs there’s no medical evidence the cat consumption sparked the condition.
She said that during her pregnancy, she had uncontrollable cravings for wild cats, an exotic dish that is found in the remote mountain region where she lives.
Alma sought out a black feline from village friends and had it sauteed with herbs – a decision she later regretted when Jaren was born.
Her neighbours kept feeding her ideas about a curse, but when she finally took Jaren to qualified doctors this month, they found out he had a medical condition called hypertrichosis.
The incredibly rare syndrome only affects an estimated “one in every billion people”, as only 50 to 100 cases were reported worldwide since the Middle Ages.
Footage shows the two-year-old playing around a building and their home, but Alma worries his unique looks will be a challenge in school.
“I worry so much for him when it’s time for him to go to school,” she said.
“He might get bullied for being different.
“I blamed myself when he was born because of the cravings I had. I felt very guilty.
“But then recently the doctors told me it was not related.”
Out of Alma’s three kids, middle child Jaren was the only one who looked different.
She said Jaren was a happy and playful boy but he complains about having itchy rashes when the weather becomes hot.
“I will give him a bath when it’s hot. We even tried to cut the hair, but it would just grow back even longer and thicker, so we stopped doing it,” she explained.
After seeing baby Jaren this month, dermatologist Dr Ravelinda Soriano Perez said: “We believe this was an inherited condition, but it is very rare. One in only one billion people could have it.”
The doctor added that while hypertrichosis did not have a cure, treatments such as laser hair removal could help the condition.
“We will try to do 10 sessions in four to six weeks and then observe,” she said.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission