Kenya is celebrating yet another remarkable wildlife milestone after a pair of twin elephant calves were born on Thursday at Shimba Hills National Reserve in Kwale County.
This marks the third instance of twin births among elephants in Kenya within just three years — a rare phenomenon in the animal kingdom.
The latest addition to the country’s wildlife was announced by Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), who termed the incident as a 'double dose of blessings from mother nature.'
"Double dose of blessings from Mother Nature! An elephant with twins was spotted in Shimba Hills National Reserve — a rare and heartwarming sight to kick off the new year," the KWS announced on Thursday.
"Together, let us safeguard these gentle giants for generations to come."
However, the agency did not immediately reveal the gender of the twin calves who appeared healthy and were seen sticking close to their mother in the Kwale-based national reserve.
Twin births among elephants are extraordinarily rare, with only about 1 per cent of all elephant pregnancies resulting in twins. Even rarer is the survival of both calves, as the mother often struggles to provide enough milk for two.
In the past three years, two sets of twin elephant calves were born within Samburu National Reserve in Samburu County.
The last miraculous dual calves, which were first sighted on December 2023, were all female, and their mother named Alto was from a family of elephants known as Clouds.
The birth of the twin elephants came almost two years after Bora from the Winds family gave birth to twin calves— male and female, although one of the calves [female] died during the drought period that ravaged Samburu County.
“Bora’s twins were born during one of the worst droughts, but despite her excellent mothering skills, the female twin sadly died”, said Save the Elephants, a research and protection organisation.
This heartwarming news comes amid ongoing efforts to protect Kenya’s elephants from threats such as poaching, habitat loss, and climate change.
A recent study revealed that Africa’s elephant population is facing an alarming decline, with a staggering drop in Forest and Savanna elephants over the past five decades.
The new report, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted by two conservation groups, Save the Elephants and Wildlife Conservation Society.
The researchers unveiled one of the most detailed studies on the status of the two African elephant species, the Savanna and the Forest elephant, using data on population surveys conducted at 475 sites in 37 countries from 1964 through 2016.
In their study, the researchers focused on the population dynamics of elephants in their natural habitats.
Among key findings, the Savanna elephant populations fell by about 70 per cent on average at the surveyed sites and the Forest elephant populations dropped by a staggering 90 per cent on average at the surveyed sites.
Researchers further revealed that, on average, there was a 77 per cent population decrease at the various surveyed sites across both species in the continent.
The report underscores that the crisis is primarily driven by habitat loss and poaching, threatening the existence of the majestic animals.
According to the new research, the population trends varied significantly as some elephant populations have reportedly disappeared entirely, with others showing rapid growth.
For instance, Southern Africa saw a 42 per cent average increase in savanna elephant populations, with only 10 per cent of surveyed populations in Eastern Africa increasing.
However, no elephant populations in the Northern Savannas grew, and many became extinct.
