A family in Canton, North Carolina was ecstatic to welcome a litter of 8 brand new German Shepherd puppies into the world.
Five of the puppies arrived with black fur, two were born with white fur, and one came out GREEN.
What is happening in this world?
Naturally, they named him Hulk, and he is absolutely adorable.
The pup was a shocking arrival for Shana Stamey, the Canton resident and owner of Hulk's mother, Gypsy.
Stamey oversaw the births of all 8 puppies, which took a mere 3 hours, as she told WLOS Local News Asheville. That's a pretty quick turnaround compared to the usual 6-18 hours it takes for a mother dog to bear an entire litter.
Of course, the record speed was hardly the most notable thing about these births.
Stamey describes how all was going as planned until it was puppy number 4's turn to come out.
"I started freaking out because he was green."
Fortunately, Stamey was also quick to report that Hulk, his mother and all the other puppies are completely healthy.
But a green puppy invites an obvious next task: what do you name it?
A few possibilities crossed Stamey's mind.
"We thought about Gremlin, yeah, Pistachio. We call him Mr. Green sometimes."
But the dog owner didn't have to ponder long before a clear choice presented itself.
"Hulk! It was lime green. He was super mad. So, yeah, he became Hulk."
So how does a puppy come out green?
Junaluska Animal Hospital veterinarian technician Suzanne Cianciulli told WLOS,
"The sack that they're in when they're in their mom, there can be meconium in there and that tends to stain them."
Meconium is the earliest stool produced by an infant mammal. Put simply, Hulk was swimming in poop before he was born.
With each passing day, Hulk's original green is fading to a yellow as his mother licks him, as she does all her young. Eventually, he'll be white like his mother and a few of his siblings.
Some still can't wrap their heads around it.
Of course, Hulk isn't the first truly bizarre colored mammal to roam the earth.
Take this purple polar bear from Argentina, for example, who's skin condition treatment went awry.
Mendoza City Zoo
Or maybe you prefer an orange alligator?
Sylvia Mythen
Alas, it looks like we shouldn't hold our breath for it, but we can expect some more colorful animals again in the future.
