Rare Asian elephant twins born in Syracuse make history (and are adorable!)
Veterinarians and staff at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse experienced an historic — and adorable — surprise with the birth of twin elephants late last month.
Born to parents Mali and Doc, the male Asian elephant twins arrived on Oct. 24.
Due to the complexity of elephant ultrasounds and the improbably of twins, the zoo care team did not anticipate two calves and were astonished by the twins arrival.
Elephant twins comprise less than 1% of elephant births worldwide and are often stillborn or are too weak to survive after birth. The few successful twin births have only taken place in Asia and Africa; to date, there has never been a recorded case of surviving elephant twins in the United States.
The first calf was born without complications at 2 a.m. and weighed in at 220 pounds.
The second calf arrived 10 hours later at 11:50 a.m. Although it weighed a healthy 237 pounds, the calf was weaker than the first. The animal care staff and veterinarians sprang into action, supplementing it with a specialized milk replacer to significantly improve its condition.
“This is truly an historic moment for the zoo and our community. I couldn’t be prouder of our exceptional animal care team, the support of the veterinary staff and their tremendous dedication to Mali and the twins,” said County Executive Ryan J. McMahon.
When they reach maturity, the male Asian elephants weigh around 11,000 pounds and stand between 6 and 11 feet tall, according to size estimates from the World Wildlife Fund.
In a statement released this week, the zoo stated “Mali’s twins are an incredible achievement for both the zoo and Asian elephant conservation worldwide.”
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The wild populations of Asian elephants are threatened by human conflict, habitat destruction and ivory poachers. With only an estimated 20,000 left in the wild, Asian elephants are classified as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
As part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan, a conservation program designed to save critically endangered animals, the Rosamond Gifford Zoo is one of the few zoos accredited to be Asian elephant breeding facilities.
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After the twins’ births, Mali’s placentas were immediately transported out of state for elephant research. They will be used for research toward the treatment and the development of a vaccine to combat Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus (EEHV), a lethal strain of herpes believed to naturally occur among elephants. The EEHV virus claimed the lives Mali and Doc’s previous two calves, Batu and Ajay, in 2020.
The arrival of the twins brings the zoo’s elephant herd to eight. They are the third generation in the herd’s family which includes Mali and her half-sister Kirina and Mali’s mother Targa — mimicking natural herd compositions in the wild. The Preserve is also home to unrelated “aunties” — matriarch Siri and Romani.
Interested in seeing the adorable new baby elephant twins? Visitors will be able to see the elephant twins at the Helga Beck Asian Elephant Preserve daily from 11-11:30 a.m. and 2-2:30 p.m. indoors at the Pachyderm Pavilion viewing windows.
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This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: Elephant twins, a rare occurrence, born at Syracuse zoo
