Rare Twin Giraffes Born In Texas For Double Dose Of Cute

Rare twin giraffes were born at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch in New Braunfels, Texas on May 10. Now the Texas-style African safari ranch has released video and photos of the new arrivals, which they say are the only living set of Reticulated Giraffe twins in the United States.

Firstborn Wasswa, a 95 pound female, and her slightly younger fraternal twin Nakato, a 125 pound male, are only the second set of Reticulated Giraffe twins known to have been born in the US.

An earlier set of rare twin giraffes was born in the US in 1988 but they are no longer alive. Mother giraffes don’t usually succeed in bringing twin baby giraffes to term.

Reticulated Giraffes can reach a height of up to 18 feet and a weight of around 2,600 pounds on a vegetarian diet.

As you might imagine, the twins still have a lot of growing ahead of them. Wasswa emerged at 4-1/2 feet tall, and her lanky twin brother Nakato was a stunning 5-1/2 feet tall.

Their mother, Carol, was the 12th giraffe born at the ranch, so they represent another generation of progress for the successful captive-breeding of the species in Texas.

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch has something of a specialty in the care and breeding of Reticulated Giraffes. Wasswa and Nakato are the 19th and 20th members of that species born on the ranch.

“As twin births are rare, we had a concern that the mother would not be able to produce enough milk for both offspring,” veterinarian Dr. Kenny Patin said. Although both babies are thriving, second-born Nakato has been hand-reared by humans to make sure he gets enough food.

He won’t be permanently removed from his family and is already being re-introduced to them in short, carefully supervised visits.

You can visit the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch’s page to enjoy a heart-warming video of the rare twin giraffes.

[photos by Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch]