(Posted 27th November 20230
Courtesy of African Elephant News / Stenews and CBS
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rare-elephant-twins-born-kenya-captured-on-camera/
An elephant in Kenya has given birth to a set of twins, a conservation group said on Friday, a rare event for the planet’s largest land mammals. Save the Elephants said that the twins, both female, were born in the Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya to a mother named Alto, describing it as “double joy.”
Twins make up only about one percent of elephant births, although another pair — one male and one female — were born in the same reserve in early 2022.
A video posted to social media by Save the Elephants, showed the baby elephants feeding from their mother, alongside other members of the herd with the caption: “Amazing odds!”
African elephants have the largest gestation period of any living mammal, carrying their young for nearly 22 months, and give birth roughly every four years.
However, elephant twins do not often fare so well. About two years ago, an elephant named Bora gave birth to twins in the Samburu National Reserve.
“Bora’s twins (male and female) were born during one of the worst droughts but despite her excellent mothering skills, the female twin sadly died,” Save the Elephants said in a Facebook post.
Still, the conservation group says it remains optimistic about the prospects for Alto’s babies.
