Only days after the birth of the first baby olm in Postojna Cave, a second baby olm has hatched. The second olm took a little longer to emerge from its egg than the first one. The first of the "baby dragons", as they are fondly referred to, hatched very quickly. "The first baby olm literally shot into the world – in a single attempt. The IR camera footage of the birth is invaluable for biologists and the pubic alike. Such an event has never been captured on tape before," the operator of the cave said a few days ago.

The first two olms will get at least one more sibling. However, the operator of the cave has warned that many uncertainties lie ahead of the little baby dragons: "We’re keeping our fingers crossed for the little eggs."

22 eggs have survived so far
As MMC has reported before, the mother olm started laying eggs on January 31. She laid 64 eggs, but not all of them are viable. The operator of the cave said a few days ago that 22 eggs could still hatch. Usually, only one or two eggs out of 500 hatch out in the wild. Statistically speaking, the birth of multiple olms is a true miracle.

T. K. B.; translated by D. V.