Sri Lanka Ele-Care

Veterinarians and Guests Visit the Best of Sri Lanka's 

Culture & Wildlife

December 1 - 26, 2017 

Summary: 

We will join Department of Wildlife (DWC) vets in the field for one week, learning about their challenges and techniques. We then survey captive elephant populations, offering services as necessary, while being supported by DWC officials. 

Pinnawala:

Horrifically, the Minister of Wildlife recently announced that he will open the gate of world renown Pinnawala orphanage (actually a zoo) and provide free elephants to specific temples that request them. Elephants will now also be available for purchase by private individuals for $60,000. Irrespective of this, this past year, in tandem with Otara (a well known conservationist), we met with the Director of Wildlife Health (at his request) to discuss improvements to Pinnawala. Captive elephant expert, Carol Buckley, is scheduled to collaborate with our team with a site visit, concurrently with our tour. We are in the process of securing donations for implementation of multiple habitat enhancements. We anticipate spending several days in the Pinnawala area working with Carol and our own vet on implementation studies.