Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage
We regret that we can no longer promote or offer visits to Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage
following adverse reports from the Born Free Foundation, an international wildlife charity working
throughout the world to stop individual wild animal suffering and protect threatened species in the wild,
and some of our own customers. Please read the reports below compiled by David Jay of the Born
Free Foundation following his initial visit to Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage on 04 November 2004 and
his latest visit on 01 April 2006. For recent news about Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage, please click on
Born Free Foundation
Notes On Pinnewala Elephant 'Orphanage', Sri Lanka - 2004
Pinnewala Elephant 'Orphanage' Update - 2006
Notes On Pinnewala Elephant 'Orphanage', Sri Lanka - 2004
The Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage is just off the main road from Colombo to Kandy,
and is one Sri Lanka's most popular animal attractions. Although the conditions
of the elephants at Pinnewala are certainly much better than many captive elephant
facilities in Asia, the welfare of the animals is a cause for concern for many experts.
As a professed sanctuary, we believe that it should be putting the welfare and care of
the animals as its highest priority, however, we do not believe that the current management
practices do this. Many decisions seem to have been made for the convenience of the
management, or for the benefit of tourists, the local tourist industry and the captive
animal industry. We therefore encourage tourists not to visit the facility and support
its practices until they are appropriate to its self-proclaimed sanctuary status.
The site at Pinnewala covers 10 hectares, and was founded in 1975 with 5 young elephants.
There are now around 60 animals, ranging from those born at the facility to some estimated
at 40 years old or more. The main site itself has a couple of restaurants / refreshment stands,
and some management buildings (e.g. sleeping sheds), but little other infrastructure. The animals
spend the night in the main site, and in the mid-morning they are led down to the Maha Oya river,
around 500 m away, for a two-hour bathing session. This walk takes them down the main street
of town which is lined with gift shops, stalls, restaurants and other tourist facilities. During
the bathing sessions tourists can watch the animals playing in the river and being washed by the
keepers. More adventurous visitors are encouraged to touch the animals under the supervision of a
mahout (elephant trainer), who expects a tip for this service. At around noon the animals are
led back through town to the main site, where they are left to graze for a few hours whilst
tourists can watch from a distance. At this time the baby elephants are brought to a feeding shed
where they are given milk from bottles whilst tourists watch. In the middle of the afternoon the
elephants are led down to the river again for another bathing session, and a few hours later they
are led back to the main site for the night.
Whilst many animal sanctuaries include some tourist access, often as a source of funds,
there is always a difficult balance to be struck between making decisions for the benefit
of the animals, and making them for the benefit of the tourists. In addition, sanctuaries
vary substantially in the care that they provide and the welfare of the animals that they
hold. Such facilities should be judged against the best standards
of welfare and care, not the worst, if they are to justify their existence as sanctuaries.
On this basis, there are several reservations about the facility at Pinnewala.
Active breeding programme
The role of 'sanctuary' or 'orphanage' also conflicts with the stated policy of encouraging
breeding at Pinnewala. Tikalanka Tours does not support the keeping of animals in captivity
unless
it is for their own benefit - for example when they have been rescued from unacceptable
captive conditions and are unable to be returned to the wild. To breed more animals for
the purpose of being kept in zoos, or sent to private collections or temples, clearly does
not satisfy this requirement. There is no need to breed Asian elephants for re-introduction,
as there are already many natural habitats that are straining to hold the wild
populations living in them. It is now illegal to capture wild elephants for captivity in
Sri Lanka, except in special circumstances, and it seems that this policy is followed in
order to provide animals for the captive market, and quite possibly for institutions where
the welfare of the animals cannot be guaranteed.
Chaining of elephants
The elephants at Pinnewala are not kept permanently chained, but it is often possible to
see individual animals chained, often in distressing circumstances.
Witnesses have reported several elephants chained at different places in the river during
the bathing period. Back at the main site, several
elephants have been seen tied to trees by two or three limbs. With almost no possibilities
for movement they had very limited access to shade, and in bright sunshine in the middle of
the day this is likely to have been very uncomfortable.
It is known that adult males at Pinnewala are usually tied up during 'musth'. Musth is a
condition experienced by adult male elephants, characterised by high levels of testosterone,
which happens about once a year and lasts for a few weeks. During this time the animals
experience increased sex drive and may roam longer distances than usual - a combination of
behaviours that in the wild can lead to vital genetic dispersal. In captive elephants,
however, the confinement and limitations on sexual activity can lead to aggression and
destructive tendencies. For this reason, males are often tied up when in musth, which
frustrates and distresses them further, making them even more difficult to manage. Hence
the practice often gets to the stage where the animals may be tied by three limbs for weeks
on end as the facility does not have any other methods for managing them. This clearly
compromises the welfare of the animals.
Behaviour of mahouts
It is easy to see the mahouts on site, carrying the 'ankus', the traditional elephant training
long stick that has sharp metal points at one end, which are used to control the elephant.
Whilst these may be used irregularly, it is this threat of pain that makes elephants
trainable, and hence makes it possible to herd the animals around the site and down to the
river on a daily basis. When asked, mahouts in most places will generally say that although
they have an ankus they very rarely use it - unfortunately this is not always the case. The
training, threatening and herding of animals in this way, although practised throughout Asia,
shows that the animals' welfare cannot be given the highest priority, as one would hope from
a facility calling itself a sanctuary.
The mahouts also actively encourage physical contact between tourists and animals, which may
provide a popular 'photo opportunity', but we feel that it is demeaning for the animals, and
does not promote respect and compassion within the tourist industry. Similarly, the chaining
of babies so that they can be fed in front of the crowds is not ideal.
Pinnewala Elephant 'Orphanage' Update - 2006
Key Observations
- Male elephant in river straining on chain.
- Adult male elephants chained in the midday heat without access to shade or water.
- Male elephants chained by three legs when off-display, permitting minimal movement,
and one of these with substantial chain wounds on all four legs.
- Daily routine for males means that they are chained up for around 20 hours a day throughout
their adult lives (European zoo guidelines recommend a maximum of three hours chaining on any given day).
- Babies born at the facility are often rejected by their mother and have to be removed and
re-introduced to her under sedation.
Narrative Report
I arrived at the facility at around 10:30am when the majority of elephants were at the river.
The females were free to move across the river, although mahouts were always positioned to prevent
straying and to herd the animals into specific areas when desired. The males that were present were all
chained within the water in different places.
One male, believed to be named Sumana, was chained in the middle of the water. He behaved quite normally
whilst the herd was around him, but when the females were herded off to the washing area (further from the
road, near the bank) he strained repeatedly on his chain in their direction. I recalled seeing very similar
behaviour in a chained animal when I was last at the facility in 2004, and it seemed reasonable to suspect
that this was the same animal although I have not confirmed this. Some British tourists had also taken an
interest in Sumana and I spoke to them briefly. They said they had asked one of the mahouts why he was chained
and had been told it was because 'he runs'. When I recounted this to the head veterinarian she said this was
not the case.
I also saw two males chained very close to each other at the far end from the washing area. These animals
also had their back legs chained together, in addition to being chained to rings in the bank, throughout
their time at the river. Tourists were invited, and strongly encouraged, to touch these animals. Throughout
such encounters a mahout would lay an ankus (a stick ending in a metal point and hook) on the back of the
animal's neck. These animals were led away before the rest of the herd, with their rear legs still chained
together.
After all the animals had been led back to the main site I went to see the situation there. By this time the
main herd was in the range area at the 'back' of the site (farthest from the road). On the way to see them I
passed two males who were chained in direct sunlight with no visible access to water. This was just after noon,
on a clear day with temperatures approaching or perhaps exceeding 35° Celsius. This sort of exposure can cause
dehydration and other health problems such as sunburn, as well as being uncomfortable. One of these animals was
chained at the edge of a wooded area but unable to move into any significant area of shade. The other was nearby
and chained to a dead tree in an open area.
The rest of the herd were gathered in direct sunlight at the edge of the ranging area. I thought it curious
to see them all together at this time without any shade or water. The bathing pool that is provided in the
ranging area was nearby but none of the animals were using it (there was water visible in it, but I did not
check the quality of it.)
I then proceeded to the Philadelphia Shed, the night quarters for all the elephants and also a tethering area
for males at certain times during the day. From my enquiries throughout the day, it became apparent that the
males spent the majority of every day chained up, throughout their adult lives. Apart from an hour or two in
the morning spent moving feed and other equipment around the site, they are chained wherever they are - in the
river, the range area or the sheds - and only unchained in order to move from one chaining site to another. At
this time in the shed there were five males chained there (by two legs). Only two of them were close enough for
physical contact with each other.
From here I took the 'back route' to the main office, going through a wooded area and past the off-display
animals. There were three or four animals (I assume males) here, mostly chained by three legs, all of them
in good shade. One of these animals had substantial chain wounds on all four legs, and the
chains could be seen to be very tight around one of the front limbs. I did not confirm why this animal was
in this state, but it may have been the 'killer bull' that had been brought to the site from the wild in
Udawalawe, where it had been causing much concern.
After passing these animals I went to the main site office and spoke with the head veterinarian,
Dr Samanthi Mendis who was very pleasant and helpful. She confirmed that all adult males are chained in
the river and most of the rest of the time in order to make management of the animals easier. The males are
also trained by mahouts at the age of nine or ten years, a process taking a couple of years and achieved,
I was told, only using positive reinforcement by rewarding desired responses with preferred food items (fruit).
We also spoke about the captive breeding regime at the facility. She confirmed that Pinnewala only takes in
babies rescued from the wild if they are incapacitated and unable to be released in the future; otherwise
all orphans are taken to the Elephant Transit Home. In recent years there have been several live births,
with eight babies born in 2004 and four in 2005. I asked about problems with mothers rejecting babies,
since I had heard reports that one baby was killed by its mother at birth in March 2004 (a problem that
is documented in captive elephants elsewhere but not to my knowledge ever seen in the wild). She confirmed
this incident but emphasised that it had only happened once. The problem of rejection still exists, however,
and babies born at the facility are often removed from their mothers at birth and then returned to them
gradually a few days later whilst the mother is sedated. This is apparently successful in addressing most
problems of the mother attacking the baby, ignoring it or refusing to feed it.
I also asked about the rumoured transfer of elephants from Pinnewala to a zoo in Japan. Dr Mendis informed
me that this transaction was not yet confirmed. Were it to go ahead, however, they have already identified
the two animals that would be sent and they are juveniles born at Pinnewala. These would be exchanged for
two black rhinoceroses to be kept in Dehiwala Zoo.
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