A mother elephant walks with her recently born twins. Pic: Myanma Timber Enterprise

A FEMALE elephant owned by Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) delivered a rare set of twins in the early morning hours of July 16 in the Katha district of Sagaing Division, said an official from the enterprise.

U Thein Maung, the deputy general manager of MTE, said the enterprise was looking after the twins – two males named Zeyar Aung and Zeyar Kyaw – and the mother, Shwe Myit Win, at a forest reserve near Shwe Kyin Creek in Inn Taw township, Katha district.

The twin elephants were 78.7 centimetres (two feet, seven inches) tall at birth and have grown about 10 centimetres (four inches) taller since then.

“The birth of twin elephants is a very rare event. Before this, it has only happened to MTE elephants three times since 1981. Only in two cases were we able to keep the twins alive for a long time,” said U Thaung Nyunt, a veterinarian who works for the enterprise.

“As there were two babies, the mother elephant found it difficult to provide milk to them. If we feed them artificial milk, they won’t survive more than four or five years,” he said.

In the meantime, the enterprise has found a foster elephant to nurse the elder of the twins.

MTE owns about 2700 elephants throughout the country. Of these, nearly 1000 are female, and about 60 babies are born each year.

Elephants usually breed between the ages of 18 and 55 and once every four years. The gestation period is about 21 months and they usually bear one baby at a time.