In a miracle of nature, a 36-year-old Asian elephant named Jamjuree gave birth to twins in Thailand. However, this miracle gave the poor mother such a scare that the event turned out to be quite traumatic.
Unexpected Appearance
When the pregnant elephant gave birth to her 176-pound male calf at the Ayutthaya Elephant Palance and Royal Kraal just north of Bangkok, no one expected what would happen next. 18 minutes later she started giving birth again, and a 132-pound female calf appeared.
A true miracle of nature, as elephant twins are extremely rare! Due to this rarity, the mother elephant got a massive scare due to the unexpected pain she was going through during the frantic delivery, and ended up attacking one of her newborns.
Frantic Birth
The mahouts, the elephants’ caretakers, jumped in to save the baby elephant from her mother’s attack. And in the frantic process, one of the mahouts suffered a blow to the ankle, breaking it.
Growing Strong
The twins are getting a little bit stronger every day! Due to the small size of the female calf, she has trouble reaching her mother’s milk. However, the clever mahouts have built a special platform to help her drink.
Love and Care
The male calf was also struggling to feed directly from his mama, but the mahouts carefully worked with him until he got the hang of it and is now feeding all by himself! Both calves have also been receiving supplemental milk through syringe feeding to help them grow big and strong!
In The Wild
If this traumatic and frantic birth where the mom attacked her newborn happened in the wild, the chances are that the calf would not have survived. Luckily, for both the mama and her babies, they were in a safe space with a lot of caring people around to help and soothe them.
Acceptance
Luckily, Jamjuree has gotten over her initial shock and feat of birthing twins, and accepted both her calves! While the calves are still growing stronger each day, they are still receiving around-the-clock attention and care to ensure they are cared for.
Rarity of Elephant Twins
As mentioned earlier, elephant twins are extremely rare – making up less than 1% of all elephant births! And what’s even more rare, is the birth of male-female twins. Making this an extremely rare and beautiful occurrence!
Twin Calf Size vs Single Calf Size
You could probably imagine that twins would be smaller than single-born calves, as they have much more space to grow! Single calves weigh between 200 and 250 pounds when they are born. Whereas these twins were only 176 and 132 pounds respectively.
Newborn Abilities
Newborn elephants can walk within an hour of their birth! And like all mammals, elephant calves drink from their mother. But did you know, these babies don’t drink with their trunks, but suckle with their mouths? No wonder the tiny girl elephant had trouble reaching.
Elephant Pregnancy
Ellies have one of the longest gestation periods, being pregnant for 22 months! No wonder this poor mama was so frightened, she didn’t know she had been carrying twins for almost two years. Due to their long gestation period, elephants only give birth around every 4 years.
Newborn Elephant Care
Newborn ellies are pretty strong, yet they do rely on their mothers for milk, care, and protection. Mothers nurse their babies for between 4 and 6 months before they start to test solid foods – gradually switching over their diet over the next two years,
How Long Do Elephants Stay With Their Mothers?
Almost as long as humans! Elephants are extremely loyal animals and stay with their mothers for an average of 16 years. Some even stay with their mothers’ herd for the duration of their lives.
Elephant Aggression
Elephants are some of the most peaceful animals on earth. However, they can act aggressively if they are sick, harassed, or as in the case of this mama, injured.
Asian Elephant Conservation
The Asian Elephant is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. And their populations have decreased by 50% over the last three generations, which makes these twins even more special!
Final Say
Watch the video of the twin elephants here.
Even though the birth of these elephant twins was traumatic, the fact that they are alive and in this world is a true miracle! We look forward to hearing and seeing more of these two!
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