Published 06:24 IST, July 9th 2020
Rare set of elephant twins spotted in Sri Lanka's Minneriya National Park?
A pair of elephant calves feeding from the same mother has been spotted in Sri Lanka. The rare sighting has left people speculating that they are twins.
Marking a first, a pair of elephant calves feeding from the same mother has been spotted in Sri Lanka. The rare sighting has now prompted officials to speculate if they were both twins. According to reports, the calves, which researchers believe could be three to four weeks old, were spotted grazing with other tuskers in Minneriya Sanctuary, in north-central part of Sri Lanka.
Twins?
Tharaka Prasad, director-general of department of wildlife conservation said that after observing the pair from a distance, the officials were confident enough to say that they were twins. Another evidence of them being twins comes from renowned conservationist Sumith Pilapitiy who photographed feeding them from their mother. According to reports, the forest rangers were currently conducting a DNA test on herd’s dung to confirm the fact. If confirmed this would be the first time that elephant twins had been spotted in Sri Lanka along with their mother.
Compassionate elephants
In another tale of brotherly love, a pair of elephants is going viral on the internet for being compassionate. Sheldrick Wildlife Trust took to their social media to share a touching story of an orphaned elephant named Zurura taking care of a rescued baby elephant named Pare. The post already has over a thousand shares and netizens are all hearts over the story.
Baby Pare came under the trust's care back in 2016. He was a suspected victim of poaching and was riddled with parasites when he arrived. With round the clock care and his strong will to live, his condition gradually improved. In December 2018, Pare was moved to Sheldrick's Ithumba Reintegration Unit. He followed in the footsteps of many rescued elephants before him including Zurura.
Updated 11:51 IST, July 9th 2020