There has been an elephant baby boom in Kenya, including rare elephant twins

Elephants are majestic creatures, but years of poaching and habitat destruction have had a devastating effect on their population size, pushing many species to the brink of extinction.

The Independent, for example, previously reported that African elephants are at risk of being wiped out completely because of the damage that environmentally destructive practices like meat-eating are doing to our planet.

However, amid this bad news, there is also hope, and there has recently been a baby elephant boom in Kenya, which has included the birth of rare elephant twins.

In the video below, elephants protect their young from wild dogs:

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Kenya's Amboseli National Park saw 140 baby elephants born in this year's calving season.

"It has been a difficult year for all of us but there is still much to celebrate," said Winnie Kiiru, speaking for the Elephant Protection Initiative in a statement cited by The Times. "Here in Amboseli, elephants are thriving. 140 beautiful calves have been born in 2020 and more are expected."

This dramatic increase in elephant numbers is no accident and is the culmination of hard work that has resulted in the country's elephant population doubling from 1989 to the present day, the BBC reports, citing a statement released by the Kenya Wildlife Service on Wednesday.

Kenya's tourism minister, Najib Balala, said: "In the past couple of years, we have managed to tame poaching in this country."

"This year alone, about 170 elephant calves have been born."

This good news coincided with World Elephant Day on August 12, with the inclusion of rare elephant twins in this year's newborn tally being a particular cause for celebration.

In an interview with AA News this week, Cynthia Moss, director of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, said: "It seems baby elephants are falling out of the sky. The ability of a female to conceive and carry a calf to term depends greatly on her own physical condition."

This year has been so successful in terms of births because of heavy rainfall. It has led to an abundance of vegetation, which means that there is plenty of food to give the baby elephants the best possible start in life.