Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage - Pinnawala, Sri Lanka - 1000 Places to See Before You Die on Waymarking.com

In the chapter of the Esala Perahera in Kandy, Sri Lanka (a procession with elephants which unfortunately I missed), the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage is mentioned as a side-excursion. The book says: "From Kandy it is a fairly easy trip to the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage where some fifty-odd to-good-to-be-true youngsters, some no more than a few weeks old, are already accustomed to being bottle-fed by visiting onlookers. Each drinks up to ten gallons a day."

About the Elephant Orphanage, from wikipedia:

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).

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.

The primary residential care area is on the east side of Highway B199, Rambukkana Road. The main site also has some restaurants and refreshment stands, and management buildings including sleeping sheds and veterinary facilities. The elephant bathing and viewing area along the Oya River is directly opposite on the west side of the highway.

At the time it was settled, the orphanage had five baby elephants which formed its nucleus. The addition of orphans continued till 1995 when the Elephant Transit Home (ETH) adjoining Udawalawe National Park was created by the DWC. Since then, orphaned babies have been taken to the ETH and addition to the Pinnawala herd has been mostly through births occurring there.

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).

Name of Source Book: 1000 places to see before you die: Revised Second Edition, 2011-2015 Page Location in Source Book: 463 Type of Waymark: Side-trip Location of Coordinates: center of the Elephant Orphanage Cost of Admission (Parks, Museums, etc.): 3000.00 (listed in local currency) List Available Hours, Dates, Season: 9-18h all days Official Tourism Website: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log   03/11/2014 Becktracker visited it