Here are the cute elephants, welcome baby wonders.
It’s good that the mother has twins! We need more elephants.
Asian twin elephants were born at the Rosamund Gifford Zoo in Syracuse.
Twins account for only 1% of elephant births worldwide, according to a press release from Onondaga County.
No cases of surviving elephant twins born in the United States have ever been reported, county officials said. Of the few twin pregnancies that do occur, many calves are stillborn.
Since the birth of the calves, zoo staff have been monitoring the twins to make sure they are both doing well.
The first calf was born around 2 am on October 24 without any complications. He weighed 220 pounds. And after 10 hours a second calf appeared. He weighed 237 pounds.
Because twins are so rare, zoo staff didn’t expect twins when they prepared for Mali’s mom.
Justin Sales shares: The staff couldn’t tell if an elephant had twins after an ultrasound, ultrasounds of elephants can’t show the full image all at once like ultrasounds of humans can. The staff thought the mother was just having a big baby.
Officials said: “The second calf was noticeably weaker at birth than the first twin, but the zoo staff quickly treated the animal and his condition improved dramatically”.
Zoo director Ted Fox said: “I cannot thank my team enough for all they have done over the past few weeks to ensure the care and safety of Mali and her twins”.
They named the calves “wonder twins”.
With two new additions, the zoo’s elephant population has increased to eight. The zoo is one of eight accredited breeding grounds for the angry population of Asian elephants. There are only about 20,000 Asian elephants left in the wild.
In December 2020, Mali and twin father Doc lost two other calves to Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes. The elephant population is currently tested for EEHV twice a week.
Visitors will be able to see the twin elephants at the Helga Beck Asian Elephant Sanctuary from 11:00 am to 11:30 am and from 2:30 pm daily, county officials said. Visitors can also see elephants indoors at the Pachyderm Pavilion viewing.
Sayles said: “The twins don’t have names yet, they will have a naming competition in the coming weeks”.
We hope these Twins will be allowed to live their lives together.
