Manatee moms are pregnant for 12-14 months, and then they spend about two years with their calves after they’re born. Because this energy expenditure is quite high, it’s rare for manatees to give birth to twins. However, a mama manatee was recently spotted in St. Petersburg, Florida, with not one but two newborns—a rare set of manatee twins.
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A local man captured photos of the mom and babies and shared them with Gulf Coast News. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed with Gulf Coast News that the babies are indeed twins and were born minutes apart. The commission called this type of birth “very uncommon due to the energy required for the demands of one calf and their year-long gestation period.”
See the manatee twins in Florida here:
Header stock image by Mauricio Handler/Getty Images
