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Extremely Rare Elephant Twins Born at Samburu National Park For First Time in Decades

For the first time in decades, on January 19th, two incredibly rare African elephant twins have been born at Samburu National Park, part of a reserve in Northern Kenya. They are the first pair of twins to be recorded in the reserve since 2006.

The birth surprised the Save The Elephants Organization, who monitors the family of elephants in the park. This is because twin births are extremely rare, forming only 1% of all elephant births.  

Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, told Newsweek: "I have seen twins several times over my career and it's always a big event for us ... when we have had twins a couple of times before it wasn't a happy outcome. However, they can survive. It always causes quite a stir when they are born."

Image Credits: Jane Wynyard. Image of the mother with one of her her new born calf's.
Image Credits: Jane Wynyard.

Researchers will closely monitor the health and progress of each of the baby twin elephants, consisting of one female and one male. The twins mother, Bora, also has an older calf which was born just five years ago in 2017, which was spotted near the twins when the discovery was made.

Article Credit -
savetheelephants.org