Elephant Orphanage

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala has the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. In 2011, there were 96 elephants, including 43 males and 68 females from 3 generations, living in Pinnawala.

The orphanage was founded to care and protect the many orphaned unweaned wild elephants found wandering in and near the forests of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).

History

The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was established by the Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation in 1975 for feeding and providing care and sanctuary to orphaned baby elephants that were found in the wild. The orphanage was located at the Wilpattu National Park, then shifted to the tourist complex at Bentota and then to the Dehiwala Zoo. From the Zoo it was shifted to Pinnawala village on a 25-acre (10 ha) coconut plantation adjacent to the Maha Oya River.

It was planned for the facility to attract local and foreign visitors, the income from which would help to maintain the orphanage. The Pinnawala Orphanage has since become a tourist attraction. In 1978, the orphanage was taken over by the Department of National Zoological Gardens Sri Lanka. In 1982 an elephant breeding program was launched. As of 2012, there were 78 elephants living here.

Visitors to the park can view the care and daily routine of the elephants, such as bottle feeding of elephant calves, feeding of all other elephants, and bathing in the Ma Oya (River).

Elephant Care

The orphanage was established to feed, nurse and house young elephants found abandoned by their mothers. Young elephants sometimes fall into pits and ravines in their quest for water during drought period. Other orphans have been displaced from their wild habitat by development projects or have been found abandoned before weaning, diseased or wounded.

The elephants are fed in their stalls. There is very little food they can gather from the premises of the orphanage except some grass. Large quantities of jackfruit, coconut, kitul (sugar palm), tamarind and grass, brought in daily, form the bulk of the elephants food. Each adult animal is given around 250 kilograms (550 lb) of this green matter per day and around 2 kg (4.4 lb) from a food bag containing rice bran and maize.

Why Elephant Orphanage ?

The main objective of the orphanage is to provide a lifeline to both orphaned baby elephants and adult elephants who have lost their way in the wilderness. There have been various instances where the mother of a baby elephant has been killed or accidents have occurred where baby elephants have fallen into pits and become separated from their herd. There have also been cases where the mother elephant has fallen into a pit and died, leaving the baby elephant alone in the jungle. Additionally, there have been instances where adult elephants have been killed by farmers in order to protect their paddy fields and crops, resulting in orphaned baby elephants. The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was established to offer the best possible opportunities to these unfortunate victims. At the orphanage, the elephants are not subjected to any form of stress, abuse, or threat. They are cared for by a team of over 100 employees, including a group of mahouts. The enclosed land of the orphanage allows the herd to freely move around, providing the elephants with opportunities to mate. In 1984, the first baby elephant was born at Pinnawela. Today, some of these orphans are fortunate enough to witness the birth of their third generation at the orphanage. Furthermore, with the assistance of local and foreign elephant experts, the orphanage has initiated a scientific captive-breeding program for elephants. Since then, it has become one of the most successful captive breeding programs for Asian elephants.

Daily features of Interest at the Pinnawala Orphanag

• 08.30 hours – Open to visitors
• 09.15 hours – Bottle feeding
• 10.00 hours – Herd leaving to the river
• 12.00 hours – Return from the river
• 13.15 hours – Bottle feeding
• 14.00 hours – Herd leaving to the river
• 16.00 hours – Return from the river
• 17.00 hours – Bottle feeding
• 17.30 hours – Ticket counters close
• 18.00 hours – Close to public

Elephant Breeding

This elephant orphanage conducts captive breeding of some elephants in its care. The natural environment and healthy care and feeding at Pinnawala made the elephant breeding program a success. The first birth at Pinnawala was in 1984, Sukumalee, a female was born to Vijaya and Kumar who were aged 21 and 20 years respectively at the time. The males Vijaya and Neela and females Kumari, Anusha, Mathalie and Komali have since then parented several baby elephants. More than twenty-three elephants were born from 1984 to 1991. In 1998 there were fourteen births at Pinnawala, eight males and six females, with one second generation birth in early 1998. Since then till 2nd of July 2015 , 70 more were born at Pinnawala.