A Recent Elephant Baby Boom In Kenya Included Rare Elephant Twins

Aug 24, 2020 by apost team

2020 might be a rough year for humanity, but it's been a great year for Kenya's elephant population. With 140 elephants born in one park alone, things are looking up for one of the world's most endangered species.

What does an elephant boom look like? This species is still incredibly endangered, so there's no such thing as thousands of elephants being born every year. Kenya's cause for celebration is that in 2020 there have been 140 elephant calves successfully born in Amboseli National Park alone.

Winnie Kiru, a member of the Elephant Protection Initiative, reflected on this wonderful series of births in an article by The Times. "Here in Amboseli, elephants are thriving. 140 beautiful calves have been born in 2020 and more are expected."

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When you're looking at a species where every single life counts, a baby boom of 140 is nothing to be sneezed at. That means there are around 139 proud elephant mothers who are now caring for their sweet and adorable calves all throughout Kenya's national parks.

One might ask why that number is one short. Well. that's because at least one of these elephant mothers had something truly magical - elephant twins.

Thanks to the efforts of wildlife conservationists, the BBC reports that the population of elephants in Kenya has nearly doubled since 1989. This information was released by the Kenyan Wildlife Service in August of 2020. One of the biggest steps taken to preserve the elephant population has been the reduction of poachers. Najib Balala, Kenya's tourism minister, noted: 

"In the past couple of years, we have managed to tame poaching in this country. This year alone, about 170 elephant calves have been born."

So why have there been so many elephants born in 2020? The answer is probably a combination of good environmental conditions that led to a comfortable lifestyle for local elephant populations. 2020 saw a record amount of rainfall that resulted in the growth of heavy vegetation.

With enough food and plenty of shade, it makes sense that the elephants were ready to support a new generation.

Speaking to local media, Cynthia Moss, the director of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, remarked on the sudden increase in population.

"It seems baby elephants are falling out of the sky. The ability of a female to conceive and carry a calf to term depends greatly on her own physical condition."

170 new elephants are definitely a cause for celebration. 2020's World Elephant Day, which took place on August 12th, was commemorated in spirit by researchers and conservationists across the world. The fact that an incredibly rare pair of elephant twins was born made the celebration even sweeter.

Regardless of why the elephants were born, Kenya and the rest of the world are certainly glad that they're here. Future generations of people deserve to meet future generations of elephants; if things keep moving this way, there's a chance that it will actually happen.

What would you do to make sure there are more baby elephants? Talk about your conservation efforts in the comments, and don't forget to forward this article to some of your friends.