Image: COURTESY OF SUMITH PILAPITIYA / AFP
A pair of baby elephants feeding from the same mother have been spotted in a Sri Lankan national park, with officials speculating Wednesday the two could be a rare set of twins.
The young tuskers — who rangers estimate are three to four weeks old — were spotted in the Minneriya sanctuary about 200 kilometres (125 miles) north-east of Colombo, grazing with a herd of about a dozen elephants.
After observing the pair from a distance, officials are confident enough to “say they are twins,” Department of Wildlife Conservation Director-General Tharaka Prasad told AFP.
The two were also photographed feeding from the same cow on Monday by renowned conservationist Sumith Pilapitiy, who also told AFP he believed the two were twins.
Rangers were carrying out DNA tests on the herd’s dung to confirm, Prasad said.
If the results matched, it would mark the first time wildlife officials on the Indian Ocean island had sighted twins alongside their mother, he added.
