An elephant in Thailand gave birth to twin calves, a rare occurrence for these endangered large mammals. The birth, which resulted in a disturbance for the mother, led to one of the caregivers getting injured. Shortly after the mother, Jamguri, delivered a female calf weighing 60 kilograms, followed 18 minutes later by a male calf weighing 80 kilograms on Friday evening, she experienced a severe episode of distress. A member of the center's team intervened to prevent her from attacking her newborn, sustaining an injury to one of his ankles.
Michelle Reidy from the "ElephantsThai" organization, which manages the center, stated, "The mother attacked the calf because she has never given birth to twins before. It is a very rare event." The mother has since begun to accept her offspring, but they are very small, prompting the creation of a platform to assist them in nursing. Additionally, they are being given extra milk through a syringe. Reidy explained that the amount of milk produced by mothers is often insufficient for twins, making survival in the wild difficult for the young ones.
Elephants have the longest gestation period of any mammal, carrying their young for 18 to 22 months and giving birth approximately every four to five years. Twins occur in only about one percent of cases, according to the "Save the Elephants" organization. The possibility of giving birth to twins, one female and one male, is even rarer.
Many of the eighty elephants at the "ElephantsThai" center were previously used for street begging, a practice that has been banned in Thailand since 2010. These animals are now primarily used to transport tourists between temples and the ruins of Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Siam, which is opposed by wildlife protection organizations. The World Wildlife Fund indicates that the number of Asian elephants in the wild is estimated to be between eight thousand and eleven thousand. According to Thai custom, names for the twin elephants will be chosen seven days after their birth.
