When they were born in an upstate New York zoo last month, extremely uncommon twin elephants made history.

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse welcomed not one but two male Asian elephants when the twins were born to parents Mᴀʟɪ and Doc on October 24. A second calf was delivered around ten hours after the first, sʜᴏᴄᴋing the zoo’s staff.

Twins are born in less than 1% of elephant births, and when they are, one is frequently stillborn or too weak to survive. The two elephants born to Mᴀʟɪ in the US are the first known instance of surviving elephant twins. Only a few successful twin elephant births have taken place, and they were in Asian and African nations.

Given that there are only 20,000 Asian elephants living in the wild and that the species is ᴇɴᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀed, Mᴀʟɪ’s birth is both a momentous occasion for the zoo and a victory for Asian elephant conservation.

Around two o’clock in the morning, Mᴀʟɪ gave birth to a 220-pound male calf without any problems. A second male calf was born at 11:50 a.m., ten hours later, stunning the zoo workers.

The veterinary staff and members of the zoo’s animal care team sprung into action when they noticed that the second calf, which weighed 237 pounds, was initially noticeably weaker. The zoo staff keeps an eye on Mᴀʟɪ and both of her calves around-the-clock to make sure they are doing well.

Officials stated that the zoo had not been expecting twins due to sheer improbability as well as the intricacy of elephant ultrasounds. Despite not having anticipated the historic delivery, they were equipped with a specific milk replacer to aid in the second calf’s development.