Sri Lanka Elephant shelter welcomes twin elephants for the first time in their history

The wildlife enthusiasts and ecologists were celebrating worldwide after hearing the news about the birth of two rare elephants in one of the elephant orphanages of Sri Lanka. It’s extremely rare for elephants to give birth to twins or triplets, so the news on two healthy calves went viral at once.

Both newborn elephants were males and registered at Pinnawala Elephant Shelter in Sri Lanka. They were born to a pair living in captivity  — the 25-year-old mother Surangi and the 17-year-old father Pandu.

There is very low chance of twin births in elephants in general, not exceeding 1% according to biologists and with high mortality rates, but both the mother and her newborns were in excellent health after birth. The CEO of the rescue center said to journalists that both the babies, despite their underweight,  and the mother were doing fine and healthy.

The Center itself is located in a  mountainous region of Sri Lanka, and homes as many as eighty three elephants, including the new additions to the big family.

Since its establishment in 1975, the Center have rescued and rehabilitated many elephants across Sri Lanka, where as many as 7,500 Asian elephants roam in the wild.  However the birth of the twins is something extraordinary as the last time such case was reported back in 1941.

Surangi is already an experienced mother as she had given birth to one male elephant a few years ago and this was her second pregnancy, so all the staff at the Center knew she would care for her babies tenderly.

Below is the video with the lovely duo!