Sri Lanka reports rare birth of elephant twins

Sri Lanka’s main elephant orphanage recorded a rare twin birth Tuesday as a 25-year-old named Surangi delivered healthy male calves. They are the first elephant twins born in captivity in Sri Lanka since 1941, according to elephant expert Jayantha Jayewardene. She said Surangi gave birth to a male calf in 2009 and this was her second time around. The father, 17-year-old Pandu, is also one of 81 residents at the orphanage, which was set up in 1975 to care for destitute wild elephants. Last year, wildlife officials said the first known twins born in the wild in Sri Lanka had been spotted at the Minneriya sanctuary in the east of the island.

By Africanews