A calf born with human-like features in Uttar Pradesh, northern India has been worshipped as God by thousands of people from nearby villages.

The calf born with human-like eyes, nose and ears and the lower part of a cow, died within an hour of its birth in an animal shelter on Thursday.

However, locals from nearby Hindu villages still gathered to seek his blessings, believing him to be an incarnation of God Vishnu.

Mahesh Kathuria, 50, a local businessman, said: “God has taken birth from the body of a local cow. We came here to seek his blessings”.

“We believe it’s a similar character mentioned in Bhagavata Puran, a Hindu religious text,” he said as quoted by the Daily Mail.

According to the publication, the worshippers now plan to build a permanent temple for the calf.

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

Animal health experts have rubbished the superstitions surrounding the animal. 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. It has got only scientific reasons and explanations, there’s no superstition here”.

Indians have always attached religious values to animals, especially cows. Recently, an Indian high court judge asked the government to declare the cow as the national animal and enhance the punishment for cow slaughter to life imprisonment.