Incredibly rare elephant twins play in bubble bath for first time
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (Gray News/TMX) – Incredibly rare twin elephant babies enjoyed their first bubble bath last week at a zoo in New York.
Asian elephant twins Yaad and Tukada are considered a “miracle” at the Rosamund Gifford Zoo in Syracuse.
The twins were born in October 2022 to mother Mali and father Doc.
Zoo staff members were “astonished” when the second male calf arrived ten hours after his brother. According to the zoo, elephant twins are extremely rare and often stillborn, and the mother sometimes dies in the process.
A video shared by the zoo last week shows Tukada enthusiastically playing and splashing in the bubble-filled pool while Yaad cautiously hangs back.
“Baby’s first bubble bath! Well, Tukada’s first bubble bath. Yaad preferred to stay on dry ground,” the zoo tweeted alongside the video. “Knowing how much baby elephants love water, it won’t be long before Yaad joins in the fun!”
Earlier this month, the zoo reported that Yaad and Tukada were thriving, weighing in at 359 and 366 pounds, respectively. Their arrival brings the zoo’s elephant herd to eight, made up of three generations, including the twins’ grandmother, Targa.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. TMX contributed to this report.
