Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
The Pinnavel elephant shelter was founded in 1975 in Sri Lanka, which is 33 km away. from Kandy. The main goal of organizing this nursery is – to create appropriate conditions where rescued injured animals could normally exist. Today – is a very popular place where tourists from all over the world come to watch the life of elephants.
Initially, the elephant nursery was located in Vilpatta National Park, where there were four disadvantaged animals. After, it was transferred to Bentota ( tourist complex ), and then to Dehival Zoo, from where, in the present place – the village of Pinawella. The elephant shelter occupies 10 hectares of land, where whole coconut plantations are located, and a river with the name Maha Oya flows nearby. Initially, the organization of an elephant shelter in Pinnawel was aimed at developing tourism here, the money from which would go to its content. Since 1978, the Department of National Zoo in Sri Lanka began to engage in an elephant shelter in Pinnawel. A little later, a program for the reproduction of elephants began to operate in the nursery, and in 2012, 88 beautiful animals could already be counted here.
The first elephant nursery was founded as a shelter for babies abandoned by their parents. That is why its name still sounds like an orphanage. The kids here were fed, watered and provided medical assistance. It often happens that young mothers, elephants in arid periods, in search of water, fall into various troubles that can be pits and ravines. They also find babies who have become orphans due to merciless poachers. Such babies are taught and raised so that in the future they are full-fledged animals. Approximately 50 drivers working at the Pinnawel shelter daily drive elephants for a walk to the local river where they swim. These huge animals walk around the park, but feed in stalls, since you can only enjoy some types of herbs on the loose. An adult elephant absorbs 75 kg of a mixture daily, which is prepared with coconuts, palm wood, jackfruit and grass. In addition to this food, they are given cuts of rice and corn every day.
As a rule, adults at the Pinnavel shelter feel good and are full of strength. Having reached a certain age, they are not detained in the kennel, leaving only a few for breeding.
The elephant shelter in Pinnawel is very popular among both local tourists and overseas. Visitors to the nursery are happy to watch the bathing of elephants in the river, as well as the feeding of adults with different mixtures in the stalls, and the little ones will be broken – from the bottle.
Pinnawel elephant shelter can be visited daily. You can watch the funny bathing of elephants by the river on a rock or in a local cafe. All the money that is paid for the entrance goes directly to the content of the nursery for elephants.
