Sri Lanka has witnessed a rare event after 80 years: an elephant has given birth to twins. On Tuesday a 25-year-old elephant named Surangi gave birth to twin calves at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, the country's main elephant shelter. Many animals give birth to more than one young, but it is very rarely seen in elephants. The newborn calves are both male.

Sri Lankan elephant expert Jayantha Jayewardene said this is the first time since 1941 — 80 years — that an elephant in the country has given birth to twins. Renuka Bandaranayake, head of the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, said the mother and her calves are doing well. "The calves are comparatively very small, but they are quite healthy," she said.

The official said Surangi first gave birth in 2009, also to a male calf. The father of the newborn twins, Pandu, is 17. The shelter has 81 elephants in all. It was set up in 1975 to care for wild elephants.

The orphanage is one of the most popular places for tourists, but it is now closed to visitors because of coronavirus restrictions. In Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka the elephant is considered a sacred animal, and the government has recently brought in a strict law to protect elephants.

Many wealthy people in Sri Lanka, including Buddhist monks, keep elephants as a display of wealth, but there have been many complaints of mistreatment. Under the new elephant law, anyone who breaks it will have the elephant taken into government custody and face three years in prison.

According to official figures, there are 200 elephants kept by individuals in Sri Lanka, and about 7,500 wild elephants. People working with wildlife say more than 40 elephant calves have been stolen in the past 15 years.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.