Pinnawala:


When you visit Sri Lanka it is a must to seethe Elephants Orphanage at Pinnawala where you could see baby jumbos wondering around their cramped foster home or bottle fed and bathed by their human foster fathers .Located 90 Kilometers from Colombo towards Kandy is the home to some 90 or more elephant orphans, Pinnawala. A place you will really enjoy and never forget. Most orphans are accustomed to their curious human visitors are harmless. It was established 1975 by the Sri Lanka Wildlife department. This 24 acres large elephant orphanage is also a breeding place for elephants and has recorded the greatest herd of elephants in captivity in the world. Initially this orphanage was at the Wilpattu National Park, then shifted to the tourist complex at Bentota and then to the Dehiwala Zoo and then to Pinnawala in 1975. The difference between the elephant orphanage in Pinnawala and Ath Athuru Sevena Transit Home at Uda Walawe is that at the Transit Home these baby elephants once cared for are released to the wilds when they reach a certain age.

Pinnawala is about 3 kilometers from Rambukkana junction on Colombo-Kandy road. Travelers by bus from Colombo or Kandy could take the Rambukkana bus from Kegalle town. Udawalawe National Park and Yala and Gal Oya National Park are popular safari destination for viewing these big mammals. It is not uncommon to come across herds crossing public roads on the Habarana. One should keep its distance if the elephants are not in a herd because of their threatening behavior.

It was hoped that this facility would attract both local and foreign visitors, the income from which would help to maintain the orphanage. There are only a few elephant orphanages in the world. Pinnawela has now become one of the bigger orphanages and is quite well known world wide. The orphanage was established to feed, nurse and house young elephants found abandoned by their mothers. Often the young ones fall into pits and ravines in their quest for water during drought period. Other inmates at the orphanage are those displaced from their natural environs by development projects or those found diseased or wounded Daily activities at Pinnawala are attempts made to simulate, in a limited way, the conditions in the wild. Animals are allowed to roam freely during the day and a herd structure allowed forming; then the babies are fed on milk in the mornings and allowed to range freely on the 12 acres large grassland whilst all animals are let for a 400 meters walk to the river Maha Oya for a two-hour bath, given their evening feed which is milk again for the babies and leaves from coconut trees, and jack fruit are given for the older ones. Each animal gets approximately 75 kg of green matter a day and in addition each gets 2kg of a food mixture containing maize, rice bran, powdered gingerly seed and minerals. They have access to water twice a day from the river Maha Oya that runs by the Orphanage. The first birth at Pinnawala was recorded in 1984, when a female Kumari aged 21 gave birth. Vijaya and Kumari have produced three calves at intervals of five and four years. In 1993 Vijaya and Kumari were 30 and 29years respectively. Thus so far there has been fourteen births, eight males and six females at this wonderful life giving elephant orphanage at Pinnawela. There are other records of the birth of elephants in captivity in Sri Lanka but most of these are off females that had been captured after they had conceived in the wild. There are also records of tamed elephants having mated with other tamed elephants and giving birth. These are however few and far between. There is one female named Sama which was brought in from the northern part of the country. She was rescued with the lower part off its front foot blown off by a land mine. This animal is growing up and is coping with that leg about six inches shorter than the other. Elephants are among the listed endangered species in the world going extinct due to man made actions. Thus orphanages such as the Pinnawala Orphanage provide and aprotect these rare majesties from going extinct from the face of this earth. Moreover these harmless herbivorous are killed for their tusks and skin which are highly bid for all around the world. In Sri Lanka these animals are revered as gods as believed by the Hindus and the Buddhist who use the as carriers of their gods during festivities in the country.