Twin elephants born for the first time in almost 80 years in Sri Lanka

An elephant gave birth to twins in a rare occurrence that hasn't happened in nearly 80 years in Sri Lanka.

Reuters reported a 25-year-old elephant named Surangi gave birth to twin males at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.

The father, a 17-year-old elephant named Pandu, is also at the orphanage. 

"Both the calves and the mother are doing fine. The babies are relatively small, but they are healthy," Renuka Bandaranaike, head of the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, told BBC. 

Twins born to a domesticated elephant in the country was last reported in 1941, according to BBC. 

Elephants have only a 1% chance of having twins, with most twin births occurring in wild African elephants, according to the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad.

They can have about four to five babies in their lifetime, and some species of elephants can be pregnant for a whopping 22 months. 

The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was set up in 1975 to save injured elephants and abandoned calves who were unable to survive in the wild.

The orphanage now houses more than 90 elephants, and the twins will be added to the list.

Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.