Elephant Orphanage Pinnawala

 

Elephants are magnificent land animals, with a thick skin and a curved trunk. Watching these gigantic wild, semi wild mammals is a lifetime experience. Sri Lanka has considerable number of the world’s elephant population. Visitors can enjoy watching wild elephants in wildlife parks such as Yala, Wasgamuwa, Udawalawa, Habarana and Mineriya.

But to those who want to see the tamed and semi wiled elephants in close proximity the best place is the “Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage”.

It is located northwest of Kegalle town along the Colombo ~ Kandy main road. The orphanage is in a twenty five acre coconut land near Maha Oya. The wide area of shallow water and the huge rocks of Maha Oya make the ideal place to these magnificent animals.

This facility was established in year 1975 as a conservation breading center for Elephants by Sri Lanka Wildlife department. It was started with a heard of five baby Elephants. In year 1978 it was taken over by the National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala Elephant orphanage is treated as one of the largest breading center in the world. Today the heard has grown up to 69 elephants.