By Waruna Karunatilake
COLOMBO (Reuters) – An elephant in Sri Lanka gave birth to twins on Tuesday for the first time in nearly 80 years, wildlife authorities said.
The twins, both males, were born to 25-year-old Surangi at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in the central hills of the country, an orphanage spokesperson said. Their father, 17-year-old Pandu, is also an orphanage resident.
Video footage from local Hiru TV media showed the grey calves on their feet and eating leaves around their mother’s legs.
Sri Lankan elephant experts said twins were last born to a domesticated elephant in the country in 1941.
One of Sri Lanka’s biggest tourist attractions, Pinnawala was set up in 1975 to care for wild elephants that needed to be rescued or treated for injuries.
There are around 7,500 wild elephants in Sri Lanka, which has a population of 22 million people.
(Reporting by Waruna Karunatilake; Writing by Karishma Singh; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
