TOURISM in Sri Lanka is thriving, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB). A case in point is the South Asian island nation's elephant orphanage at Pinnawela which is breeding elephants in captivity in a sprawling 25-acre coconut plantation. “The elephant population in Sri Lanka was being decimated to near extinction by the natural loss of their habitat, the hunting due to the lucrative ivory trade and lack of proper management,” said SLTPB managing director, Dileep Mudadeniya. “But all that is history now as from merely seven elephants in 1975, the Pinnawela elephant orphanage now houses 65 elephants including several bred in captivity under the intelligent management of the National Zoological Gardens.” The pachyderms roam free in the 25-acre coconut plantation where they eat grass in addition to a daily diet of around 75 kg of coconut palm, jackfruit and other leaves per animal. The baby elephants at the orphanage are bottle fed on milk by their handlers. The Pinnawela elephant orphangage is located near the main highway linking Colombo and the hill capital of Kandy. It is an area of wild natural beauty, including scenic waterfalls, spice and tea plantations, bird and wildlife reserves and tropical jungle excursions, where tourists are housed in eco-friendly accommodation. Besides tourists, Pinnawela also attracts scientists from around the world, who come to study the behavior of the elephants and Sri Lanka's success in conservation. Perhaps the most popular elephant activity at Pinnawela is the twice daily bath at the nearby river. They travel in procession to the river where they splash and play and get scrubbed and cleaned by their handlers for an hour each time. It's also the time when the cameras click furiously in the otherwise tranquil village of Pinnawela. “The Pinnawela orphanage is a classic example of sustainable tourism because it meets the needs of present tourists and the villagers simultaneously,” said Mudadeniya. Sri Lanka had a population of 30,000 elephants in 1815. The numbers, however, had dwindled to near extinction by the time the Pinnawela elephant orphanage was established in 1975. Since then the population has gradually increased to over 3,000 in the island nation.
