Births are neck and neck

Tiffany Soechting walks with one of the twin giraffes, born at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, to hand feed the young male named Nakato on Wednesday, May 29, 2013. Tiffany Soechting walks with one of the twin giraffes, born at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, to hand feed the young male named Nakato on Wednesday, May 29, 2013. Photo: Bob Owen, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Bob Owen, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Births are neck and neck 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

NEW BRAUNFELS — Talk about a rare pair.

Twin reticulated giraffes born at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch earlier this month are only the second reported set of living twins ever born in the United States, according to Laurie Bingaman Lackey, giraffe studbook keeper for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Weighing 95 pounds and standing 41/2 feet tall, Wasswa, a female, was born first on May 10. Her brother, Nakato, weighing 125 pounds and standing 51/2 feet tall, followed soon after. At only a few weeks old, both are miniature versions of their stately mother, but with gangly legs and knobby knees they'll eventually grow into.

The giraffes, the 19th and 20th born at the 400-acre ranch in New Braunfels, reportedly are doing well. Because of concerns that the mother would not be able to produce enough milk for both, Nakato is being hand-reared to ensure he receives adequate nutrition. Their mother, Carol, was born at the ranch in 2005. This is the third time she has given birth.

According to spokeswoman and animal specialist Tiffany Soechting, the twin births were “quite shocking” for everyone at the ranch — including several very lucky visitors who were on hand to watch the births.

Gamekeepers knew Carol was pregnant, but they didn't do a sonogram, as might happen at some zoos, which would have revealed she was having twins.

“We prefer to let things progress more naturally, and a sonogram can be stressful, especially now that we know she was carrying twins,” Soechting said.

When Wasswa was born, dropping to the ground from her mother who was standing upright (as giraffes do), they rushed to make sure she was OK.

“She was smaller than an average baby giraffe, so we were a little concerned,” Soechting said. “Then we looked up, and were surprised to see two more feet coming out of Carol.”

After some discussion, and although Carol initially was attentive to both calves, they decided to move Nakato to a separate enclosure so she could give most of her attention to the smaller Wasswa. Several days later they tried returning him to his mother, but she became aggressive.

“She kicked at him and tried to push him away,” Soechting said. “It's a natural reaction because she's protecting Wasswa. So we put him back in the separate enclosure.”

Mother and son still share a fence, and when Nakato comes close, she'll bend down and give him a quick lick or two — which is how mother giraffes groom, bond and stimulate their offspring.

Soechting uses a cartoonishly large baby bottle to feed Nakato a special infant wildlife formula. The young calf drinks three 64-ounce bottles a day.

The names are African in origin, with Wasswa meaning first born male twin, Nakato meaning second born female twin.

Yes, the genders are switched, but Soechting said she wanted the names to comply with Spanish-language grammar rules — where “female” words end in -a, and “male” words end in -o.

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch is currently home to eight giraffes, including the twins' 10-year-old father, Marshall.

“Some animals twin happily, such as sheep and goats,” said Lackey from AZA. “But giraffe twins are extremely rare. There's just (only) so much room in the mother's uterus for a pair of placentas to attach.”

rmarini@express-news.net