Rare Elephants Born In Upstate New York Zoo

You don't expect rare elephants to be born in Upstate New York. However, that is exactly what happened at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. Twin male Asian elephants were born and survived for the first time in a United States facility. The survival rate for twin elephants is about 1%. Mali and Doc are the proud elephant parents of the rare duo.

According to a press release by the zoo, Mali delivered her first calf at 2 a.m. on October 24th with no complications. The male calf tipped the scales at a hefty 220 pounds and was perfectly healthy. The second calf came ten hours later at 11:50 a.m. The later elephant was also male and weighed in at a whopping 237 pounds. The report said that the second calf was noticeably weaker. The zoo’s animal care team and veterinary staff were able to stabilize the calf’s condition, thus making the duo the first to survive birth as a pair in U.S. captivity.

“This is truly a historic moment for the zoo and our community. I couldn’t be prouder of our exceptional animal care team, the support of the veterinary staff and their tremendous dedication to Mali and the twins,” said County Executive Ryan J. McMahon in the release. “The important research happening right here at the zoo will have a significant impact worldwide on behalf of this magnificent endangered species”

The new twins bring the zoo’s elephant herd to eight that reside at the Helga Beck Asian Elephant Preserve. You can visit the elephants and the rest of the animals in the zoo by going to rosamondgiffordzoo.org and purchasing tickets. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is an inexpensive, fun day for the entire family and is a short day trip from the Capital Region.