Sri Lanka’s first elephant orphanage celebrates 50 years
The orphanage opened in 1975, but Sri Lanka is also now facing a human-elephant conflict in areas bordering traditional wildlife sanctuaries
Sri Lanka’s main elephant orphanage marked its 50th anniversary on Sunday with a fruit feast for the 68 jumbos at the showpiece centre, reputedly the world’s first care home for destitute pachyderms.
The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage lavished pineapples, bananas, melons and cucumbers on its residents to celebrate the anniversary of their home, which is a major tourist attraction.
A few officials and tourists invited to the low-key celebration were served milk rice and traditional confectionery while four generations of elephants born in captivity frolicked in the nearby Maha Oya river.
“The first birth at this orphanage was in 1984, and since then, there have been a total of 76,” chief curator Sanjaya Ratnayake said, as the elephants returned from their daily river bath.
“This has been a successful breeding programme, and today we have four generations of elephants here, with the youngest 18 months old and the oldest 70 years,” he said.
The orphanage recorded its first twin birth in August 2021 – a rarity among Asian elephants – and both calves are doing well.