Watch: Elephant in Thailand gives birth to rare ‘miracle’ twins

An Asian elephant in Thailand gave birth to a rare set of twins in what the caretakers described as a miracle after the joyous occasion had nearly turned into a tragedy.

A tumultuous birth

Earlier this month, a 36-year-old elephant named Chamchuri gave birth to the twins at a camp in Thailand’s ancient capital and popular tourist destination, Ayutthaya.

Chamchuri’s caretakers were aware that she was pregnant and were thrilled after she gave birth to her son, on June 7.

However, around 18 minutes later elephant caretakers heard a loud thud and were shocked to see that the 36-year-old elephant gave birth to another baby, a female.

“We heard somebody shout ‘there is another baby being born!’,” said Lardthongtare Meepan, a veterinarian. He told the BBC, “We were all cheering because it’s a miracle.”

The birth of a second calf had startled Chamchuri as well. The joy quickly turned into horror after the mother panicked and had to be restrained to prevent her from stepping on her daughter.

“The mother attacked that baby because she had never had twins before because its very rare, and that had caused her some pain so she was attacking it,” said Michelle Reedy, director of the Elephant Stay organisation.

Notably, twin elephant births are rare and account for only one per cent of births, but the combination of a male and female is even rare.

One caretaker injured

Amid the shock and chaos, elephant caretakers, who are called mahouts in Asia, quickly prevented Chamchuri from accidentally injuring her new daughter.

One of the caretakers, Charin Somwang, 31, was injured while trying to control the large elephant and reportedly broke his leg when he stepped between the mother and her offspring.

Somwang told the BBC he “was so happy” at the time that he “couldn’t feel pain”. It wasn’t until he reached the hospital later that he realised the extent of the injury, said the 31-year-old.

It’s normal for the new mother to kick or push the baby after birth to check if it is alive, said Somwang. However, the second baby appeared too weak to sustain that kind of treatment, he added.

Monks bless the twins

On Friday (Jun 14), Monks from Wat Traimit in Bangkok came to bless the twins as a part of merit-making ceremonies for the occasion, according to the Associated Press.

The calves were later presented with a tray of bananas and cartons of milk.

Elephants are seen as sacred in Thai culture. They are also a big part of Thailand’s national identity and have officially been proclaimed a symbol of the nation.

(With inputs from agencies)