CONSERVATIONISTS HAVE ‘FINGERS CROSSED’ FOR SURVIVAL OF RARE ELEPHANT TWINS

Sun 23 January 2022:

Conservationists are crossing their fingers after the birth of rare elephant twins at a Kenyan reserve. The next several weeks will be vital for Samburu’s adorable twins, who have become an internet sensation and have captivated people all over the world.

“Twins are rarely encountered in elephant populations — and form around only 1% of births,” zoologist and Save the Elephants founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton said in a statement. He added, “Quite often the mothers don’t have enough milk to support two calves.”

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In an Instagram post, he said, “The survival of the twins depends very much on the quality of the grass and vegetation and the experience of the matriarch.”

“This mother has had successful experience of raising a calf before and the fact that it has rained recently the grass is green in Samburu and gives the little twins a greater chance of survival … We have to cross our fingers, but we are cautiously hopeful,” he added.

The calves have yet to be given names. They were born this week in the Samburu National Reserve, making them only the second set of twin calves ever seen by Save the Elephants, a local conservation organization.

Bora, the twins’ mother, is 16 years old herself. On Monday, guides captured a rare encounter of a mother elephant and her newborn baby twins on film (January 17).

The birth of twins in the park has only been recorded once before, in 2006. Both calves perished shortly after birth in that case.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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