11/11/2025
Singles' Day or Double 11 is an unofficial Chinese holiday for people who are not in a relationship. The date, 11 November, was chosen because the numeral 1 resembles a bare stick, Chinese Internet slang for an unmarried man. The four "1"s also refer to the demographic group of single people - BUT .............
If you have the opportunity to go exploring you will find that ONE is a lonely number - TWINS have been spotted !
In one long-term study at Amboseli National Park, Kenya: 2 sets of twins out of 2,687 births → ~0.07 % twin-birth rate. Twin calves face much higher mortality risks and mortality among the twin calves was ~43% by age five. One reason: carrying and nurturing two large calves places a heavy energetic & maternal burden on the cow, especially in species (like elephants) evolved to produce one large calf per pregnancy. Twins may also compete with each other for the mother’s milk and attention and the weaker twin often succumbs.
Elephants have the longest gestation period of any land mammal (22 months). After birth, females typically wait around 4 years (or more) before next pregnancy. The evolutionary strategy of producing one large calf (rather than twins) likely helps maximize survival under their life history constraints. Twin births often linked to environmental / maternal condition or genetic factors
In some studies, twin births were more frequent in habitats with abundant resources, e.g., after favorable rainfall or in areas of reduced poaching, suggesting better maternal nutrition may increase chance of carrying twins. Some individual females repeatedly produced twins, pointing to genetic predisposition for twinning.
