Elephant Breeding
This elephant orphanage is also conducts captive breeding of some elephants in its care. The natural environment and healthy care and feeding at Pinnawala made the elephant breeding program a success. The first birth at Pinnawala was in 1984, Sukumalee, a female was born to Vijaya and Kumar who were aged 21 and 20 years respectively at the time. The males Vijaya and Neela and females Kumari, Anusha, Mathalie and Komali have since then parented several baby elephants. More than twenty-three elephants were born from 1984 to 1991. In 1998 there were fourteen births at Pinnawala, eight males and six females, with one second generation birth in early 1998. Since then till early 2012, 84 more were born at Pinnawalla.
12 elephants were released to temples and private owners since June, 2011. Shama (female, aged 24), Lasanda (female, aged 18), Mihindu (male, aged 13), Haritha (male, aged 10 years), Atlas (male, aged seven), Charaka (male, aged five), Asela (male aged 8), Tharindu (male aged 5), Wasana ( Male aged 11), Arjuna ( male aged 14) and Vishwa (male aged 5) were among those.
Read more about this topic: Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
Famous quotes containing the words elephant and/or breeding:
“So slowly the hot elephant hearts
grow full of desire,
and the great beasts mate in secret at last,
hiding their fire.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“We have been God-like in our planned breeding of our domesticated plants and animals, but we have been rabbit-like in our unplanned breeding of ourselves.”
—A.J. (Arnold Joseph)