{"id":2177446,"date":"2024-09-13T06:00:17","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T05:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2177446"},"modified":"2024-09-07T11:24:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-07T10:24:06","slug":"rare-twin-elephants-take-first-steps-in-myanmar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/rare-twin-elephants-take-first-steps-in-myanmar\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare twin elephants take first steps in Myanmar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Baby elephant twins born last week on a timber camp in Myanmar are thriving after a wobbly first few days in the world, officials told AFP on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Pearl Sint was born a few minutes before her brother Kyaw Pearl last week at the 60-acre Wingabaw elephant camp in the Bago region operated by state-run Myanmar Timber Enterprise.<\/p>\n

At about two feet and six inches tall, the pint-sized twins were around four inches shorter than the average calf, said Myo Min Aung, the camp’s assistant manager.<\/p>\n

This meant they were not tall enough to reach their mother’s teat and feed.<\/p>\n

“We helped them by putting small wooden blocks under their front legs and bringing their heads up to their mother’s breast,” he said.<\/p>\n

On the third day, they were able to feed themselves and quickly showed their personalities.<\/p>\n

“The little male likes to wander around and play with humans rather than stay with his mother,” said Myo Min Aung.<\/p>\n

“He is not feeding as much as the female little one does.”<\/p>\n

Another official at the camp, who did not want to give his name, said he hoped the twins would not take after their father, a bull elephant named Aye Htike.<\/p>\n

“He was badly behaved. He used to attack the other elephants and people,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Fewer<\/a>
Fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild, and fewer than 2,000 of them are found in Myanmar, according 2018 figures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pearl Sandar, the twins’ mother, “has a kind heart”, the official said.<\/p>\n

“She doesn’t attack others… we are training the twins to be well-behaved, not like their father.”<\/p>\n

The arrival of the twins takes the population of the elephant camp up to nine, the official said.<\/p>\n

Previously around 3,000 elephants were used for labor at state timber enterprises in Myanmar, the majority dragging freshly cut trees through the dense jungle to transport hubs and mills.<\/p>\n

But now those at the Wingabaw camp, like many others, carry humans instead of logs and earn their keep as a tourist attraction.<\/p>\n

Fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild, and fewer than 2,000 of them are found in Myanmar, according 2018 figures from environmental group WWF.<\/p>\n

“This is my first time personally experiencing an elephant twin birth,” said Myo Min Aung.<\/p>\n

“I am happy to take care of the little twin elephants, but it is also a big responsibility.”<\/p>\n

This article<\/a> was first published by Phys.org on 5 September 2024. Lead Image: Baby elephant twins born last week on a timber camp in Myanmar are thriving after a wobbly first few days in the world.<\/i><\/p>\n

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