Two baby elephants in an outdoor zoo enclosure with dirt ground, patches of grass, and scattered vegetation under sunny daytime light. 8:07
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Rare twin baby elephants tease their keepers

Elephants almost always have one baby at a time. At the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka, one mother had two, and the little brothers make sure nobody there gets bored. more

Twins turn up in only about one percent of elephant births, a little less often than in people, where it's about 1.6 percent. The mother is an elephant the orphanage once helped get back on her feet. When the vets found she was carrying two, she got special care, with extra food and supplements, and both calves were born healthy.

Now four months old, the boys square off in a mock fight to see who will win. Elephant calves drink about 10 liters of milk a day. Somewhere between four and six months, they start testing their trunks on grass and leaves.

Their mother is the quiet surprise. Many elephant mothers turn violent when strangers come close to a newborn calf. This one shows no objection, even when the staff cuddle her babies close.

So the keepers get pulled into the fun. The twins know the staff well, and they love to play with them and tease them. They come over for cuddles and pets as often as they can.

Two baby elephants in an outdoor zoo enclosure with dirt ground, patches of grass, and scattered vegetation under sunny daytime light. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Elephants almost always have one baby at a time.

Calves aren't fully weaned until they're past two, and by then they can weigh 850 to 900 kilograms. Once the twins are grown and can manage on their own, they'll be released into the wild. Until then, the teasing goes on, and their mother keeps a calm eye on it all.

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