Our History

With the cultural background of treating human and animal alike in their distress Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage started off with the introduction of five abandoned baby elephants to the premises. They were namely Vijaya, Neela, Kadira , Mathlee and Kumari. The tragedy with these misplaced or abandoned babies is that they cannot survive in the wild on their own as they suckle form their mother until they are almost five years old. They hence need to be hand raised for their survival.

This institution caters not only for the abandoned babies but also for those injured and maimed within the jungle. We employ the expertise of both modern veterinary and traditional indigenous medical treatment to cater to these elephants needs.

Currently PEO has become one of the largest tourist attractions in the country due to its distinctive population of elephants.