About the Author

James Tyrrell

Alumni

James had hardly touched a camera when he came to Londolozi, but his writing skills that complemented his Honours degree in Zoology meant that he was quickly snapped up by the Londolozi blog team. An environment rich in photographers helped him develop the ...

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15 Comments

on Do Elephants Have Twins?

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kathy heritage
Guest

We saw the elephant twins in Thailand in 1996. It was quite an exciting event.
The were been ‘sponsored’ by a Paper mill called Advance Agro.
So yes I think these two could well be twins. Will be wonderful to know how
They progress.

Pat Schaum
Guest

I made my first trip to Londolozi in 2011, and my stay there remains deeply seated in my heart. It is amazing how the experiences one has take route in your soul. Your writings and photos bring smiles (and sometimes tears.) I always look forward to hearing your news. Thank you and please never stop writing and sharing the world of Londolozi.

Shirley
Guest

How adorable. I really hope they will make it. Hopefully so now and than we will get an update. Thank you.

I vote twins!!!!

kiki
Guest

Anything is possible. Really enjoy listening to your deductive reasoning. Keep it coming!

Jo Anne
Guest

Such sweethearts.

Danny
Guest

Fascinating story! I hope they are seen again so we can learn more. They look like twins to me:)

Fon
Guest

So adorable! Another of Mother Nature`s joys. So lucky to see them and thanks for sharing.

vikranth
Guest

Even my vote is for twins!!

Louise Taback
Guest

Yes, i do believe they could be twins…..its that closeness that they have with each
other and Mom!!! Very interesting and awesome thank you!!We learn something new
from the wild every day!!!

David Dampier
Guest

Very interesting! Did a bit of reading and it seems quite rare for elephant calves to successfully suckle from anyone other than their mom. It has been recorded, but usually females agressively reject calves that aren’t theirs. Other records include calves suckling from females who had just miscarried or lost calves and were still lactating (which doesn’t seem to be the case here). I am not sure if both calves were successfully able to suckle without the female being agressive? If that is the case it seems a fair chance that they are in fact twins.

James T
Guest

Thanks Doyle.
Interesting that in a society such as elephants which is meant to be intelligent, caring and somewhat benevolent that there should be aggression from cows towards calves that don’t belong to them. I guess this might go back to the limited milk supply and the additional stress it would place both on the female and her calf.
The mother elephant in this case was in no way aggressive, quite happily letting both calves suckle.
As I said before, the only really conclusive proof would be DNA testing, which we won’t do, but in the absence of that, I’m happy to just imagine the possibility of twins.

May the Goddess bless her babies with a long life!

Karen
Guest

Super cute! Elephant twins are very rare, especially since baby elephants can weigh over 200 lbs each when born… that would be nearly a half ton. I vote twins on this one and am glad to see momma elephant is still in good shape 🙂

This is absolutely beautiful … I vote that they are twins. Has there been any update from Londolozi on the youngsters? Would be awesome to know what became of them …

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