KMA Perera COLOMBO — One of the most popular and admired attractions in Sri Lanka for a tourist is the elephant orphanage situated in Pinnawala, about 90 kilometers from the Colombo-Kandy highway and about three kilometers to the interior on the Rambukkana road. At any given time, close to a hundred elephants of varying ages are at the orphanage, which is among a few of its kind in the world to have sheltered such a large number of wild elephants in one place. The orphanage also runs a breeding program for Asian elephants. Most of the elephants are brought to the orphanage as babies who either lost a mother or found or were separated from their herd. Injured elephants also find permanent shelter in the orphanage. These wild elephants are gradually tamed and trained through the help of older elephants and by elephant handlers called “mahouts”, who have been in the business for generations. Their knowledge about elephants is passed from generation to generation. The elephants spend the day time at a nearby river bathing and it is one of the most alluring spectacles to watch. Here, a tourist finds the opportunity to get very close and even touch older, well-trained elephants. Some tourists are brave enough to offer bananas to the elephants who grab them with their trunks without hesitation. To an animal observer, it is an ideal opportunity to study the behavior of these largest mammals and in fact some scientific research is already being carried out by local and foreign experts. It is fascinating to observe that even though a parent of a baby elephant is not in the herd, elder members take care of young ones. Occasionally, a dispute can erupt over a bathing spot but the mahouts are vigilant and are usually able to control the situation. A long wooden stick called a “henduwa” is the weapon used to control the large animals. When the pointed steel prick attached to the top of the stick is pressed on a nerve under the ears, the elephant feels immense pain and a show of the stick is sufficient to immediately put an end to any hostile behavior. The elephants in the river are usually in a playful behavior – they spend their day splashing water at each other with their trunks and lying in the water waiting for their skin to be brushed by the mahouts. Watching elephants bathe is an absolutely charming sight and being around these serene animals can have a very calming effect on the observer. A graceful sight to see at Pinnawala is the elephants parading from their stalls in the main center to the river in the morning and their return in the evening. They all walk in an orderly fashion one behind the other in a line that stretches nearly 400 meters. Also, visitors can view baby elephants being fed milk in bottles, and they too can get the opportunity to bottle feed one. If a visitor is interested in riding an elephant, the orphanage does not provide such a facility, but nearby elephant safari parks can arrange rides and elephant shows that feature the giant animals carrying logs, pushing weights and following their mahout's instructions. In the same vicinity, a small scale workshop demonstrates how paper is made from elephant dung. Pinnawala has blossomed into a mini resort with several hotels on the river bank providing the best view of the daily elephant bath and a number of souvenir shops, grocery stores and restaurants have made the place a busy spot. The environment made available to these mammals is a noteworthy achievement made possible with the support of the Sri Lankan government. – SG
