The Elephant Transit Home is situated just outside Udawalawe National Park, one of Sri Lanka's finest, and takes in orphaned or abandoned baby elephants in order to prepare them for a life in the wild. The facility is open to visitors – there is a modest admission charge which helps to support the work undertaken here – and the feeding sessions, which take place every three hours, are a particularly good time for a visit.
You can watch the little elephants march up to the feeding station and their obvious delight when the milk starts flowing is worth every rupee of the entry fee.
I do not need to point out that the very small ones are particularly cute.
The Elephant Transit Home was established in 1995 and has released over 100 elephants into the wild. The released animals continue to be monitored. Some have meanwhile become mothers, a clear sign that the rehabilitation programme is successful.
There are currently around 30 elephant calves at the Home.
The Transit Home runs a 'Foster Parent' scheme. Information about this scheme and more details about the centre and its work (along with many more photos and some videos) can be found at:
(NB: The website might be slow loading, but it is worth the wait.)
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