Conservationists are keeping their fingers crossed as they are cautious after the birth of rare elephant twins at a reserve in Kenya. As mentioned, the next couple of weeks will be crucial for Samburu’s cute twins who became an internet sensation, captivating audiences globally.
“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.
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The calves are yet unnamed. They were born this week in the Samburu National Reserve, becoming only the second set of twin calves ever encountered by local charity Save the Elephants.
Bora, mother of the twins is herself 16 years old. Guides caught a rare sighting of a mother elephant and her newborn baby twins on camera on Monday (January 17).
The birth of twins has only been recorded once before in the park in 2006. In that case, both calves died shortly after birth.
