Mysuru: An elephant at Bandipur Tiger Reserve has given birth to twins, an event said to be extremely rare and a first in India, according to wildlife conservationists.

The baby elephants were discovered by a group of safari goers near the old campus on the Mysuru-Ooty Road, close to the Reception Road. The first photo was clicked by wildlife photographer R.K. Madhu.

According to conservationists, twins are rarely encountered in elephant populations and form around only 1 percent of births. Quite often the mothers do not have enough milk to support two calves, they said. Forest officials at Bandipur said that the next few days will be crucial for the survival of the twins and they have decided to keep a close watch on the mother and the calves.

Elephants, the largest land mammals in the world, have the longest pregnancy of any living mammal. While the African elephants are pregnant for an average of 22 months, the Asian elephants are pregnant for 18 to 22 months.

At Bandipur, the elephant had given birth between the rocks and as such, the twins were stuck in a small ditch, unable to come out. A panicky mother elephant then began trumpeting which attracted the attention of the safari vehicle drivers and also beat forest staff.

Examining closely without daring to venture near the mother elephant so as to not to turn it aggressive, the drivers and guards spotted the heads of the twins between the rocks. They later informed the officers. As per the directive from Dr. Ramesh Kumar, Field Director, Project Tiger, Bandipur Tiger Reserve and ACF Naveen, RFO Shashidhar and staff reached the spot.

A daring operation

As it was difficult to reach the twins in the presence of their mother, the Department staff drove the mother elephant away with jeep acceleration sound. Scared due to human presence near her babies, the pachyderm climbed a rock and watched from there. Later, the forest personnel got into the ditch and lifted the twins one after the other, risking their lives as the mother elephants generally turn very aggressive with newborns next to them.

All this while, the mother elephant was quietly watching from above. It did not move even a bit and it came down only after the forest staff moved away from her babies. It later embraced the calves to feed. The forest staff ensured that the twins were not exhausted while lifting them up from the ditch, thereby saving the twins.

Forest officials said that the mother and twins were doing well and the mother was foraging near the same place where they were spotted. Sensing danger from other predators like the tiger, the elephant has not entered the jungles and is visible in the safari region itself.

By M.T. Yogesh Kumar