Earlier in June, the elephant park Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal in Thailand was able to share the news that one of their elephants had given birth to twins. Not only are twin births rare among elephants, but fraternal twins are even rarer, as in this case. Facts about the Asian elephant The Asian elephant is slightly smaller than the African elephant. The height of the males to the neck varies between 2.4 and 3 metres. The weight can reach over 5 tonnes. Female elephants normally give birth to one young, and the gestation period is 18–23 months. At least four to five years pass between each birth. Only the male has tusks. The Asian elephant was once widespread over large parts of Asia. Today, they only live in an area of around 5% of their former distribution area. The total number of Asian elephants was estimated at approximately 50,000 in 2018. Asian elephants have been used as working animals for several thousand years and are still used, for example, in forestry and as transport animals. Around a third of today’s Asian elephants live in captivity. The life expectancy of wild elephants is 60–70 years. Source: Store norske lexikon The charitable organization Save the Elephants states that around one percent of births among elephants are twin births. In addition, elephants reproduce poorly in captivity, according to Store Norske Leksikon, SNL. It is also rare for twins to survive, because the mother mostly only has milk for one young. Dramatic birth In the park in Ayutthaya, no one was expecting twins, which led to drama during the birth. Chamchuri had given birth to a male calf, and the staff were getting the baby elephant on its feet when, according to the BBC, they heard a loud thump. Here, some of the employees work to revive the newborn. Photo: AP When a little girl calf arrived unexpectedly, the mother panicked, and the zookeepers had to prevent Chamchuri from stepping on the smallest baby. According to elephant tamer Charin Somwang, it is normal for the mother to try to bump into or push the baby. – I was afraid she would hurt the baby elephant, so I went forward and tried to block the smallest one from the mother, he tells the BBC. The newborn elephant twins pictured on 10 June. The boy on the left and the girl on the right. Photo: Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP / NTB Somwang broke his leg in the chaos. – I was so happy that I didn’t feel the pain, says the passerby. He says that he didn’t know how much it hurt until he got to the hospital. – A miracle Other employees also describe euphoric states when the twin birth was a fact. – When we pulled the other baby elephant out, away from the mother, the baby stood up. Everyone cheered, because it’s a miracle, says veterinarian Lardthongtare Meepan to the BBC. This photo of the sleeping twins was shared by Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal on Facebook on June 12. Photo: Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal This sibling photo was shared by Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal on Facebook on June 14. Photo: Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal The mother elephant Chamchuri with her twins in the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal. Photo: Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP / NTB – We have all wanted to see elephant twins, but not everyone is lucky, because it rarely happens, adds the veterinarian. The male calf weighs 60 kilos and is thus bigger than its sister who arrived 18 minutes later and weighed 55 kilos. The girl is so small that she has to use a ramp to drink milk from her mother. Photo: Ayutthaya Elephant Palace & Royal Kraal Sacred, but in captivity In Thailand, which is mainly Buddhist, elephants are considered sacred. The Asian elephant is considered endangered by the World Conservation Union, IUCN. According to SNL, around one-third of them live in captivity. The mother with her two newborns. Photo: Nathathaida Adireksara / AP / NTB Several of the elephants are used as tourist attractions, which is considered poor animal welfare. The Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal park claims its elephants have been saved from begging in the streets. According to the BBC, there are many elephant tamers, so-called mahouts, who, in order to survive, have trained their elephants to do tricks. This happened after several types of logging were banned in 1989. Before this, elephants were frequently used in the forestry industry. Published 19.06.2024, at 15.54
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Rare elephant twins born in Thailand – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
