Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (Sinhala: පින්නවල අලි අනාථාගාරය), is a captive breeding and conservation institute 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 2023, there were 71 elephants, including 30 males and 41 females from 3 generations, living in Pinnawala.
| Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage | |
|---|---|
Herd of elephants at Pinnawala | |
| 7°18′2″N 80°23′18″E | |
| Date opened | 1975 |
| Location | Pinnawala, Kegalle, Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka |
| Land area | 25 acres (10 ha) |
| No. of animals | 71 (2023) |
| No. of species | 1 |
| Website | https://nationalzoo.gov.lk/elephantorphanage/ |
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).
On 31 August 2021, a 25 year old elephant named Surangi gave birth to twin male baby elephants at the orphanage. It also marked the first instance of the birth of twin elephants in Sri Lanka after a gap of 80 years since 1941.