Extremely rare elephant twins born in South Africa
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An extremely rare set of elephant twins have been born in Pongola Game Reserve in South Africa. [Photo/Pongola Game Reserve/Facebook] |
An extremely rare set of elephant twins have been born in a nature reserve in South Africa.
Scientific evidence suggests that there is less than one percent prevalence rate of elephants twinning and even less of a chance that both twins survive into adulthood, making the birth of these young elephant twins an incredibly rare natural occurrence.
The yet unnamed twins were born to a 31-year-old elephant cow called Curve, so named for the curve of one of her tusks. She birthed three offspring before delivering the twins, all of which were male.
The father of the twins points to Ingani, a 44-year-old elephant bull that deceased slightly more than a year ago. The sex of the twins remains unconfirmed as Curve is given enough space and a fighting chance to beat the mortality odds for the twins.
"Mortality of one of the twins usually occurs as the increasing demand for milk by two calves cannot be met by the mother and the less dominant of the two calves usually cannot gain access to its share," said Dr. Ian Whyte, an elephant specialist. "Curve needs a stress free environment to beat the odds," he added.
Pongola Game Reserve, a privately-owned big-four game reserve in northern Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.
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