PERSON: Paula Powers

Twinnies Pelican and Seabird Rescue

Wildlife rescuer, co‑founder and operator

Paula Powers and Bridgette Powers (born 1974), known as The Twinnies, are Australian identical twin sisters who operate Twinnies Pelican and Seabird Rescue, a nonprofit organization in Landsborough, Queensland. They have received attention for their work with injured birds, and for their very close and overlapping speech patterns, the latter going viral following a 2025 interview about a carjacking both witnessed.

Born in 1974 on the Sunshine Coast, the pair experienced developmental delays from birth and were sent to an institution at age two before their parents, Helen and John, eventually got them out and raised Paula and Bridgette alongside their six other siblings. The two of them spoke in their own language from a young age and were often separated by teachers because they believed the pair were cheating. They dropped out of high school due to health problems, and they developed an interest in wildlife conservation, influenced by their coastal environment and early work at Australia Zoo. The pair met Steve Irwin in a chance encounter after helping a green sea turtle who had been stranded on a beach. After meeting he offered them a job at the Australia Zoo.

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