Surangi, one of Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage’s female elephants, gave birth to two gorgeous calves on the last day of August, making it a very happy day for the orphanage. According to elephant specialist Jayantha Jayewardene, they are the first twins born to a tamed elephant in Sri Lanka since 1941, therefore this is huge news for the country.
Both of the babies are males, and the orphanage’s director, Renuka Bandaranaike, says the newborns appear to be a little smaller than previous elephant calves, but they are healthy.
She stated, “Both the calves and the mother are doing nicely.” “The infants are little, but they are healthy,” says the mother.
Surangi, who is 25, is not her first time becoming a mother, but she is nonetheless ecstatic about her new job. She had her first child 12 years ago and it was also a male calf.
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was established in 1975, and after 26 years of caring for orphaned wild elephants, it currently possesses the world’s largest captive elephant herd. Pandu, Surangi’s 17-year-old partner, is one of the 93 residents who are cared for by the staff.
Wildlife officials in Sri Lanka discovered a pair of twin elephants wandering around the Minneriya reserve in the North Central district last year. They were the first twins ever seen in the wild by Sri Lankans.
Elephants are revered in this country, but this is unfortunately one of the reasons why they are mistreated. Many wealthy people keep them as pets illegally, and there have been an increasing number of abuse instances in recent years. In addition, environmentalists believe that over the last 15 years, at least 40 elephant calves have been kidnapped from wildlife parks.
Thankfully, the government has enacted strict restrictions to safeguard these delicate and sociable animals.
Sri Lanka is home to roughly 200 domesticated elephants and an estimated 7,500 wild elephants, according to researchers.
