Sri Lanka’s most important elephant orphanage recorded a uncommon twin birth Tuesday as a 25-year-old named Surangi delivered wholesome male calves.
They are the 1st elephant twins born in captivity in Sri Lanka due to the fact 1941, according to elephant specialist Jayantha Jayewardene.
“Both the calves and the mother are doing fine,” Renuka Bandaranaike, head of the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, told AFP.
“The babies are relatively small, but they are healthy.”
She mentioned Surangi gave birth to a male calf in 2009 and this was her second time about. The father, 17-year-old Pandu, is also one of 81 residents at the orphanage, which was set up in 1975 to care for destitute wild elephants.
The facility, a important tourist attraction, has been closed to guests for the reason that of coronavirus restrictions.
Last year, wildlife officials mentioned the 1st identified twins born in the wild in Sri Lanka had been spotted at the Minneriya sanctuary in the east of the island.
The government has unveiled hard regulations to safeguard the animals who are thought of sacred in the majority Buddhist nation.
Many wealthy Sri Lankans — which includes Buddhist monks — preserve elephants as pets to show off their wealth, but reports of ill remedy are widespread.
Those who violate the new law will have their elephant taken into state care and could face a 3-year prison sentence.
Official records show there are about 200 domesticated elephants in Sri Lanka and an estimated 7,500 in the wild.
Capturing wild elephants is a criminal offence punishable by death, but prosecutions are uncommon.
Activists say that more than 40 child elephants have been stolen from wildlife parks in the previous 15 years.
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