Uthane Youngprapakorn, executive director of Samut Prakan
Crocodile Farm and Zoo, looks at a pair of newly-born rare baby crocodile
twins, joined at the hips, southeast of Bangkok on June 26, 2001. The Thai
farm, home to many thousands of fresh water crocodiles which are both on
display to the public and also killed for their skin and meat, is appealing
for international help to save the reptiles. REUTERS
BANGKOK (dpa) - The world's first crocodile Siamese twins ever to survive
longer than a few hours were born over the weekend at a crocodile farm in
Thailand, the owner of the farm said on Tuesday.
The two baby crocodile babies, whose gender could not be determined due to
their young age, were born Saturday conjoined at the lower abdomen and tail.
"This is a world-first, and we have decided not to separate them
surgically for the time being, but will consult with international
veterinarians," said Uthane Youngprapakorn, owner of the Samut Prakarn
Crocodile Farm and Zoo, some 35 kilometres south of Bangkok.
Veterinarians found out from X-rays on Monday that the baby crocodiles have
separate hearts, lungs and kidneys, but share their digestive tract, making it
difficult for them to defecate.
"We only will resort to surgical separation in case the crocodiles
develop serious health problems. In the meantime, we will keep them for
scientific case studies and also as a tourist attraction," said Uthane.
The farm claims that it is not unusual for crocodile eggs to contain more
than one embryo.
"Out of the 30,000 to 40,000 eggs which the crocodiles at our farm lay
annually, one per cent would contain more than one embryo," he said.
While separate twins usually survive, this is the first time Siamese twins
have not died within a few hours after hatching but are in fact quite healthy,
Uthane claimed.
Although the farm has not yet officially named the twin crocodiles, local
villagers have called them Chang and Eng after the world's most famous human
Siamese twins from whom the term was derived.
Chang and Eng were born in Thailand, known at the time as Siam, in 1811 and
were conjoined by a strip of flesh on their abdomen.
They soon became attractions at fairs around the world and later settled in
the United States where they married two sisters and fathered numerous
children.
Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo is the world's largest facility of its
kind, with some 150,000 crocodiles kept in its pens. |
