Â鶹APP

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Image by Affordable Websites from

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian Elephants. It is located at Pinnawala village, northeast of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka.

Pinnawala at the time was a very remote area with lush coconut plantations. Most importantly an area where the availability of mahouts was not lacking.

The orphanage was established in 1975 to care for and protect the many orphaned. Also, weaning of the young Elephants that are found near forests of Sri Lanka.

The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage started with 5 calves. Amazingly, one of the elephants gave birth to twin male baby elephants at the orphanage.

This marked the first instance of the birth of twin elephants in Sri Lanka after a gap of 80 years since 1941. It is one of the orphanages to have the largest herd of captive elephants in the world.

Let’s learn the top 10 fascinating facts about Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

1. The Orphanage was established by the Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation

The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was established by the Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation in 1975. The aim was to feed and provide care and sanctuary to orphaned baby elephants that were found in the wild.

The Orphanage was located at the Wilpatuu National park. It then shifted to the tourist complex at Bentota, and later to the Dehiwala zoo. From the zoo, it was shifted to Pinnawala village on 25 acres adjacent to the Maha Oya River.

2. It Started with the Introduction of Five Abandoned Calves

Baby Elephant at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.Image by Mohamed Nuzrath from

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage started with the introduction of five abandoned baby elephants. The calves were Vijaya, Neela, Kadira, Mathlee and Kumari.

The calves could not survive in the wild on their own as they suckle from their mothers till the age of 5. Hence, they were raised in the orphanage for their survival.

3. This Institution Caters not only for the Abandoned Ones but also to the Injured

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage also takes care of the injured and maimed within the jungle. The institution employs the expertise of both modern veterinary and Traditional medical treatment to Cater For the Elephants.

One tusker, Raja is blind, in this institution. Furthermore, one female, named Sama, lost her front right leg to a land mine.

4. The Female and Young Elephants in Pinnawala Range Freely as a Herd during the Day

Young Elephants. Image by Mohamed Nuzrath from

The females and Calves in Pinnawala are left to range freely as herds during the day in an area of a few acres. They are herded twice a day in approximately 5km to drink and bathe in the river.

However, at night the females are individually chained in stalls. Adult males do some light work such as transporting feed. They are chained and managed individually.

5. Calves Born in Pinnawala are not Bottle- Fed

In Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage herd occurrence is through births. Thus the Calves born in this institution are not bottle-fed.

However, a few that are brought from the Udawalawe Elephant Transfer Home are bottle-fed for tourist attraction. Elephant Transfer is a facility within Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka that was established in 1995 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation.

6. The Elephants are Fed in their Stalls

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.Image by C M Anjalee Panawala from

 There is very little food they can gather from the premises of the orphanage except for some grass. Thus Large quantities of jackfruit, coconut, sugar palm, tamarind and grass form the bulk of the elephants’ food. They are brought in every day.

 Each adult animal is given around 250 kilograms of this green matter per day. They are also fed around 2 kg (4.4 lb) from a food bag containing rice bran and maize.

7. There are 48 Handlers in the Institution

The 48 handlers take care of the elephants on a daily routine. This includes giving them enough food since the elephants are dependent on supplied food, taking them to the river Ma Oya for bathing, checking on the injured ones and training the new ones.

8. Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage Conducts Captive Breeding 

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.Image by Affordable Websites from

The natural environment and health care and feeding at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage 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 more than 90 elephants born at Pinnawala.

9. The Quality of Care of Elephants Donated from Pinnawala had a Big Public Issue

In 2012, The Sri Lanka Environment Trust had a complaint about the donated elephants to people from Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. The organisation claimed the elephants released from the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage to some group of people are not well-taken care of.

10. Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage Attracts Local and Foreign Visitors

Feeding Elephant.Image by Mohamed Nuzrath from

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was a planned for facility to attract local and foreign visitors, the income from which would help to maintain the orphanage. It has since become a tourist attraction.

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

Tourists get a chance to pet and play with elephants. The animals are really friendly and if tourists jump into the water with them they spray them with water from the trunk.

The Sri Lankan Elephant is considered to be an animal that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct as populations have been declining at a critical rate. Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is helping to stop this rapid level of decline by saving as many elephants as possible.