A Thai elephant delivers twins in an event so rare it shocked the mother. Equally surprised care givers had to restrain the startled mother. She was in danger of stomping the baby during the less than 1 in a hundred event. the BBC said.
“The mother, 36-year-old Chamchuri, was not expected to deliver twins and when she gave birth to a male calf last Friday, staff at the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal, had thought the delivery was done.
But while cleaning up the first calf and helping it stand on its feet, they heard a loud thud and realised that Chamchuri had given birth to a second calf, a female.
The second birth sent the mother into a panic. Caretakers had to restrain her to prevent her from stepping on the female calf. One caretaker was hurt in the melee.”
“Once we pulled the second baby elephant out, away from the mother, the baby stood up. We were all cheering because it’s a miracle,” veterinarian Lardthongtare Meepan told the BBC.
“We’ve always wanted to see elephant twins but not everyone can see this because it doesn’t happen a lot,” said Ms Meepan, who grew up at the elephant park, and is herself a mother of twins.
Charin Somwang, a 31-year-old mahout, broke his leg while restraining the mother.
“I was so happy, I couldn’t feel the pain,” he told the BBC, adding he felt the extent of the injuries only when he was brought to the hospital.
The mother’s behavior was not unforeseen. When a Thai elephant delivers:
“It’s normal that the new mother will always try to kick or push the baby… I was afraid that she might break the baby elephant, so I put myself forward and tried to block the mother from the smaller one,” said Mr Somwang, who has been working at the park for 15 years.”
Asian elephants are endangered and as few as 50,000 may be in the wild. They are native to much of Asia but live in more fragmented habitat
The Asian elephant is also the closest living relative to the extinct mammoth. It is expected to play a key role in reviving that creature from extinction. The American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is reportedly interested in de-extinction efforts.