Twin elephants were born for the first time in Sri Lanka in the Minneriya National Park, an official confirmed on Wednesday, July 9 according to Financial Express.
Tharaka Prasad, the Director of Wildlife Health at the Department of Wildlife Conservation, said the calves are estimated to be between three and four weeks old.
‘We have been observing a group of elephants during the last few days, and yesterday through observations we were able to confirm there is a set of twins born to an adult female,’ Sumith Pilapitiya, a local wildlife researcher told the New Indian Express. He added that authorities are taking all measures to protect the twin baby elephants and their mother.
Only 1% of elephant births result in twins, according to National Geographic. The mortality rate for twins is high, as they compete for food.
Take a look at the adorable ellies:
The first time in the recorded history of Sri Lanka living twin baby elephants has been observed in Minneriya National Park. ♥️ Twin elephant babies are very rare in nature. Only a handful of them recorded even in the world stage. #lka #wonderOfAsia pic.twitter.com/N9nQuhncFk
— Numbers.lk 🇱🇰 (@Numberslka) July 8, 2020
#Elephant #TwinElephantCalves #MinneriyaNationalPark #SriLanka #DY365
Sri Lanka for the first time has recorded the birth of twin elephant calves in Minneriya National Park, Tharaka Prasad, the Director of Wildlife Health at Department of Wildlife Conservation said on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/ZOFkG6RPcQ— DY365 (@DY365) July 8, 2020
Sri Lankan elephants are a sub-species of the Asian elephant. The country’s elephant population has fallen almost 65% since the turn of the 19th century and elephants are now protected by law. Killing one of these animals is punishable by death, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Image credit: Twitter/Numberslka
