Pinnawala
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
Elephant Orphanage is an unfamiliar terminology, but it’s absolutely true and real. The secluded premises dedicated to provide a natural habitat for captive elephant’s weeks old babies to fifty-year-old parents and grand parents. The herd can be sited in the orphanage-only place of its kind of this population on earth to date.
The Pinnawela elephant orphanage was established in 1975 on a land area of nine hectares, a prime land of coconut plantation. At the inception there were only seven orphans. Some members of this generation now given birth to the second and third generation and the story continues.
Even though the orphanage has been focused on tourist attraction, currently this location is a research centre concerned with conservation and education about elephants.
Daily actiivities in Orphanage
Every activity of the Pinnawala elephant orphanage has been planned to a timetable. The baby elephants are bottle fed at 7.00 a.m. The gates are opened for visitors at 8.30 a.m., while the elephants take the stride to the valley near by and to the eastern side of the orphanage. They could settle to move about in freedom, as many enjoy the mud/dust bath.
At around 10.00 a.m. the herd of elephants move to the river for a refreshing bath. The river – ‘Maha Oya’ – is the third largest river in Sri Lankan, in terms of volume of water carried to sea.
By 1.15 p.m. baby elephants receive another dose of milk while grown-up elephants receive snake of pellets. At 2.00 p.m. the elephants proceed to the river and remain bathing until 4.00 p.m. After this refreshing dip they return to the sheds.
