Surprise! Rare Asian elephant twins born at zoo in New York state

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A zoo in New York state is celebrating the birth of not one but two Asian elephants.

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According to Syracuse.com and WSYR-TV, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse welcomed twin male elephant calves last month.

“We’ve made history!” the zoo wrote in a Facebook post Thursday. “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!”

The zoo added that twins are rare for elephants.

“Elephant twins comprise less than 1% of elephant births worldwide,” the post read. “To date, there has never been a recorded case of surviving elephant twins in the United States.”

The first of Mali’s “miracle” twins, who weighed 220 pounds, arrived about 2 a.m. Oct. 24 “with no complications,” the zoo said in a news release. But shortly before noon that day, zoo employees were “astonished” when Mali also delivered a second, weaker calf weighing 237 pounds, officials said.

“The zoo’s animal care team and veterinary staff sprang into action and were able to significantly improve the calf’s condition,” the release said, adding that he has been receiving supplements of a “specialized milk replacer.” Staff members continue to monitor both calves “around the clock to ensure they are thriving,” according to the Facebook post.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources considers Asian elephants endangered. Although population estimates suggest as many as 51,680 Asian elephants remain in the wild, some experts have called those figures doubtful, according to the organization’s website.

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