Rare event as elephant begets twin calves

Bora from the Winds Family gave birth to a male and a female calf. [Courtesy]

An elephant has given birth to twin calves at the Samburu National Reserve, an occurrence that last happened in 2006 but the calves did not survive.

The elephant, Bora from the Winds Family, gave birth to a male and a female calf last weekend.

Zoologists say twin births are rare in elephants. [Courtesy]

A Facebook post by a non-profit organisation dedicated to ensuring elephants' future, Save The Elephants, indicated that eagle eye guides at the Elephant Watch Camp were the first to spot the twins and reached out to them.

“Twin births like this are very rare - in fact, we haven’t seen twins in the park in decades! We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the progress of these special little pachyderms,” the post read in part.

The guides at EWC are trained by Save the Elephants (STE) to recognise individual elephants and families in the park.

On Thursday, January 20, Tourism CS Najib Balala also shared the news of the twin birth, congratulating the reserve for the birth.

The twins are Bora's second-born after her first calf born in 2017. [Courtesy]

“Congratulations! to Samburu National Reserve on the birth of an Elephant's twin calves,” Balala tweeted.

The twins are Bora's second-born since she has an older calf that she bore in 2017.

The Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad says that elephant twin births are very rare and occur in one per cent of elephant births.

Elephants can have four to five babies in their lifetime, at the same time, some species of elephants can be pregnant for up to 22 months at a time.