Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (Sinhala: පින්නවල අලි අනාථාගාරය) is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala (පින්නවල), Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka, around 90 km from Colombo of Sri Lanka.
Trees are everywhere in the orphanage, an ideal place to breed the poor baby elephants.
Tourists can view the care and daily routine of the elephants, such as bottle feeding of elephant calves, feeding of all other elephants, and bathing in the river.
The Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) is one of three recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to Sri Lanka.
It is estimated that Sri Lanka has the highest density of elephants in Asia. Human-elephant conflict is increasing due to conversion of elephant habitat to settlements and permanent cultivation.
The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was established by the Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation in 1975 for feeding and providing care and sanctuary to orphaned baby elephants that were found in the wild.
