The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York has made history. The Zoo announced on October 24th that Asian elephants Mali and Doc became proud parents to twin boys.
Twin elephants are extremely rare, and they make up only 1% of elephant births worldwide. Due to the rarity of twins, no one suspected that Mali would give birth to two babies. She surprised her caretakers when the second calf came along hours later.
“When we first announced the pregnancy of Asian elephant Mali, we assumed our herd of six Asian elephants would become seven. That’s not quite what happened… because we not only welcomed the seventh member of our Asian elephant herd — but our eighth. Mali had twins!” Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s post shared.
Mali delivered her first calf who was perfectly healthy, weighing in at 220 pounds, around 2 a.m. Ten hours later, the second calf arrived, astonishing the zoo employees. The second calf weighed 237 pounds, but was noticeably not as strong as his brother.
“The zoo’s animal care team and veterinary staff sprang into action and were able to significantly improve the calf’s condition,” a release from Rosamond Gifford Zoo stated.
In addition to helping boost the population of the endangered species Asian elephant, the zoo also hopes that the birth of the twins will contribute to efforts to eliminate a fatal elephant disease. Mali and Doc’s previous two calves died from elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus, which is a strain of herpes that is the leading cause of death among young elephants.
Mali’s placentas were sent for research to Baylor University in hopes of developing a vaccine and treatment for the disease, says the zoo. The twins will continue to be monitored and tested for the disease.
Since the facility welcomed the baby elephants at the end of October, its elephant care team has been monitoring the duo closely, officials said, adding that “Mali and both her calves are currently doing well.”
The birth of the twins brings Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s herd to a total of eight elephants. Visitors can see the miracle twins and the rest of the herd at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s Helga Beck Asian Elephant Preserve.