Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage and breeding ground for wild elephants which is situated northwest of the town of Kegalle, Sri Lanka.. It was established in 1975 by the Department of Wildlife Conservation.The orphanage was originally founded in order to afford care and protection to the many orphaned elephants found in the jungle. As of 2008, there were 84 elephants. he aim of the orphanage is to simulate the natural world. However, there are some exceptions: the elephants are taken to the river twice daily for a bath, babies under three years of age are still bottle fed by the mahouts and volunteers.in 1984 there were 84 elephant and More than twenty-three elephants have been born since 1984.the orphanage has the largest herd of captive elephants in the world.
The orphanage is very popular among local and foreign tourists. The main attraction is the opportunity to observe the bathing elephants from the broad river bank as the herd interacts socially, bathing and playing.sitors to the park can view many different aspects of the care and daily routine of the elephants, such as bottle feeding of elephant calves, feeding of all other elephants, and bathing.