Elephant locations in Sri Lanka

91 locations has kept elephants in Sri Lanka

There is presently 286 (123,115) living elephants in locations in Sri Lanka in this database

Sri Lanka
Region:	Sri Lanka is in this database included in asia
Wild elephants:	Sri Lanka has about ca 7,500wild elephants. Source:https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/photosin-search-of-sri-lankas-vanishing-tuskers/
Location holdings:	91 locations has kept 390 elephants in Sri Lanka (Database tables with collection of elephants further down on the page)
Elephants in locations	286 (123,115) living 104 (56,24) dead

Sri Lanka is an island with a land area of approximately 62,000 km2 situated in the Indian Ocean, 35 km from the southern end of the Indian Peninsula.

2004: In 2004 a rare albino elephant was spotted roaming Sri Lankas Ruhunu National Park, the first recorded sighting in the country.

2011: The first-ever nationwide elephant census in August 2011 produced a total of 7,379 jumbos across the island: 5,879 of them were spotted near parks and sanctuaries, while another 1,500 were estimated to be living in other areas. (Earlier 2 000-3 000, Santiapillai, IUCN1996, Sukumar 2008)

2021: Sri Lanka is home to an estimated 7,500 elephants, which is about 10% of elephants that live in Asia. They live on about 2% of the country’s land area, and a little more than 7% of male elephants bear tusks.

Poaching

A record number of elephants - 361 - have died in Sri Lanka during 2019, environmental groups say.

It is highest figure of elephant deaths to be reported since Sri Lanka became independent in 1948, conservationists said. Most were killed by people.

There are an estimated 7,500 wild elephants in Sri Lanka. Killing them is illegal, but the animals often come into conflict with rural communities.

Sajeewa Chamikara, an environmentalist from the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform, told the BBC that some 85% of elephant deaths last year may have been caused by human activity.(Sri Lanka elephants: "Record number" of deaths in 2019, BBC)

Human-elephant conflict

2019: In 2019 alone, 407 elephants and 122 humans were killed due to the country’s worsening HEC. Man-elephant conflicts are the major cause for the elephant killings whilst a number of elephants were run over by trains accidentally. In some other cases elephants were killed as they fell in man-made structures like farming wells.

Research has indicated that problem-elephant translocation causes intensification and broader propagation of HEC and increased elephant mortality, hence defeats both HEC mitigation and elephant conservation goals.

Captive elephants

1946: In 1946 Sri Lanka was said to have 736 elephants in captivity (Santiapillai and de Silva, 1994)

1955: there were said to still be 670 elephants (Deraniyagala, 1955).

1967: census conducted by the University of Peradeniya and the Smithsonian Elephant Research Programme showed 532 elephants, with two owned by government and the remaining 530 in private hands (Jayasinghe and Jainudeen, 1970).

1982: In the early 1980s a census conducted by the DWLC listed 344 elephants, including 29 tuskers and 154 makhnas (Anon., 1982d); but A.B. Fernando, who handed the mimeographed single page to the author, estimated that about 10% were uncounted, the addition of which would give about 380 elephants (A.B. Fernando, 1988).

Recommended Citation

Koehl, Dan, Facts about elephants in Sri Lanka. Elephant Encyclopedia, (2023) available online retrieved 2023-12-05 at https://www.elephant.se/country.php?name=Sri Lanka.
(archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources, among others

Ashley de Vos, The Special Sri Lankan Elephant and the Import Export Trade. http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2021/01/24/the-special-sri-lankan-elephant-and-the-import-export-trade/
Current status of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka, by Fernando et al. (2011), http://www.asesg.org/gajah35.htm">Gajah nr 35, 2012. (Journal of the IUCN/SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group)
http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/AC774E/ac774e0g.htm">FAO: elephants in Sri Lanka
https://www.nature.com/news/linnaeus-s-asian-elephant-was-wrong-species-1.14063
http://www.ceylontoday.lk/51-27295-news-detail-pinnawala-zoo-ready-by-end-2013.html
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=51569
http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/index.php/news/provincial-news/25377.html
http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2010/10/elephant_pharyngeal_pouches.php?utm_source=sbhomepage&utm_medium=link&utm_content=channellink
http://www.eturbonews.com/17761/revisiting-gathering-elephants-minneriya-national-park
https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1869.tb07303.x
http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/AC774E/ac774e0g.htm
http://www.sfltimes.com/news/human-elephant-conflict-soars-in-sri-lanka-green-activists-blame-habitat-loss
Problem-Elephant Translocation: Translocating the Problem and the Elephant? available online at https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0050917
Sri Lanka elephants: "Record number" of deaths in 2019, BBC online at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51076898

Internal relevant links

The elephant database startpage. Statistics
News about elephants in Sri Lanka (From the sister site Elephant News)

Name	Elephant collection				Place
P.R. Karunarathna (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	1 deaths	Hemmathagama
Aluthgama Kande Vihara (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	Aluthgama (map)Kalutara District Western Province
Anamaduwa Wev Pitiya (camp) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	Puttalam
Anamaduwe Dhammadassi Thera (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 1 present (1,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths
Anuradhapura forest (wild) Kept totally 14 elephants	, 1 present (1,0)	10 births	13 relocated	0 deaths	(map)Anuradhapura district North Central Province
B. B. Yayasekhara (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	1 deaths	Dompe
Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya temple (temple) Kept totally 3 elephants	, 2 present (2,0)	0 births	0 relocated	1 deaths	Boralesgamuwa (map)
Bentota Tourist Complex elephant orphanage (orphanage) Kept totally 7 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	7 relocated	0 deaths	Bentota Southern province
Ceylon Department of Civil Engineering (camp) Kept totally 6 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	2 relocated	4 deaths	Kurunegala
Ceylon department of the commissioner of roads (camp) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	2 deaths	Colombo
Ceylon Zoological Gardens (zoo) Kept totally 3 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	3 relocated	0 deaths	Dehivela, Colombo (map)
Champis elephant safari (camp) Kept totally 0 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	KegalleKegalle District Sabaragamuwa Province
Colombo unspecified location (private) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	2 deaths	Colombo (map)
D. S. Senanayake (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths
D.A.W. Kannangara (private) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 1 present (0,1)	0 births	0 relocated	1 deaths
Delgamu temple (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 1 present (1,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Ratnapura
Deraniyagala Sri Saman Devalaya (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 1 present (1,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Deraniyagala
Devinda Senanayake (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	1 deaths	Kerala
Devinuwara Upulwan Sri Vishnu Devalaya (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	Matara
Dutugemunu of Anuradhapura (private) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	2 deaths	Anuradhapura
Galgamuwa range forest (wild) Kept totally 8 elephants	, 6 present (6,0)	1 births	1 relocated	1 deaths	Galgamuwa (map)Kurunegala District North Western Province
Gangaramaya Temple (temple) Kept totally 4 elephants	, 1 present (1,0)	0 births	1 relocated	2 deaths	Colombo
Giritale Elephant Transit Home Medical Centre (hospital) Kept totally 5 elephants	, 1 present (0,1)	0 births	4 relocated	0 deaths	Polonnaruwa
H. L. Yajarathna (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	Ratnapura
Hambantota Wild Elephant Management Reserve (wild) Kept totally 5 elephants	, 4 present (1,3)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	Hambantota Southern Province
Horowpothana Elephant Holding Ground (HEHG) (sanctuary) Kept totally 0 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Horowpathana National Park (map) North Central Province North eastern Sri Lanka
J.P.I. Piyadasa (private) Kept totally 0 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths
James Emerson Tennent (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	Colombo
John Hagenbeck & Co. (dealer) Kept totally 7 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	7 relocated	0 deaths	Colombo
K.G. Sumarasekere (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 1 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths
Kaduwela Kotalawela Sankapitti Vihara (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 1 present (1,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Kaduwela
Kalawewa National Park (wild) Kept totally 8 elephants	, 5 present (4,0)	0 births	1 relocated	2 deaths	Anuradhapura (map)Anuradhapura District North Central Province
Kandalama Walauwa (private) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	2 relocated	0 deaths	Kandalama Mirigama, Western Sri Lanka
Kandy Sri Dalada Maligawa Temple of the Tooth (temple) Kept totally 19 elephants	, 10 present (10,0)	0 births	2 relocated	7 deaths	Kandy (map)
Kataragama Kiri Vehera Dewalaya (temple) Kept totally 4 elephants	, 4 present (4,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Kataragama (map)
Kaudulla National Park (wild) Kept totally 3 elephants	, 3 present (3,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Polonnaruwa (map) North Central province
Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara temple (temple) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 2 present (2,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Kelaniya
Kotagama village (village) Kept totally 5 elephants	, 1 present (1,0)	0 births	0 relocated	4 deaths	Kegalla (map)
Kotte Rajamaha Viahara (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	1 deaths	Kotte
Kurunegala District (wild) Kept totally 0 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Kurunegala North Western Province
Kurunegala forest (wild) Kept totally 5 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	1 births	5 relocated	0 deaths	Kurunegala
Lahugala Elephant Sanctuary (wild) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	Polonnaruwa
Lucky Bandaranayake (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	1 deaths	Pamunuwa, Mawanella
Lunugamvehera National park (wild) Kept totally 7 elephants	, 5 present (4,1)	0 births	2 relocated	0 deaths	Lunugamvehera
Maduru Oya National Park (wild) Kept totally 6 elephants	, 4 present (1,1)	1 births	2 relocated	0 deaths	Polonnaruwa Uva Province
Maharagama Temple (temple) Kept totally 3 elephants	, 3 present (0,1)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Maharagama Western Province
Mahiyangana Raja Maha Viharaya (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 1 present (1,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Mahayangana
Matara elephant stables (dealer) Kept totally 0 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Matara
Matara Weherahena temple (temple) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 2 present (1,1)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Matara (map)
Millangoda elephant camp (camp) Kept totally 10 elephants	, 5 present (2,3)	0 births	1 relocated	4 deaths	Molagoda (map)
Millennium Elephant Foundation (private) Kept totally 13 elephants	, 8 present (3,5)	0 births	3 relocated	2 deaths	Kegalle (map)Kegalle District Sabaragamuwa Province
Minneriya national park (wild) Kept totally 3 elephants	, 3 present (0,1)	3 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Polonnaruwa (map) North Central Province
Morahena Watte (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	Athurugiriya
Morawatte Temple (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	KegalleKegalle District Sabaragamuwa Province
Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara (temple) Kept totally 4 elephants	, 2 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	1 deaths	Badulla (map)
Nawagaththegama jungle (wild) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	1 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	Puttalam
Nawala businessman (zoo) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 1 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Nawala, Kotte Western Province
Olaboduwe Ralahami (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths
P.W.Wijegunawardene (private) Kept totally 4 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	4 relocated	0 deaths
Panagoda army camp (private) Kept totally 3 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	3 relocated	0 deaths	Kalutara
Panamure elephant kraal (dealer) Kept totally 30 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	17 relocated	13 deaths	Sabaragamuwa (map)
Pelmadulla Purana Rajamaha Viharaya (temple) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 1 present (1,0)	0 births	0 relocated	1 deaths	Pelmadulla
Peradeniya Faculty of Veterinary Medicine & Animal Science (hospital) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths
Pinnawala elephant orphanage (orphanage) Kept totally 150 elephants	, 69 present (21,36)	69 births	58 relocated	23 deaths	Kegalle (map)Kegalle District Sabaragamuwa Province
Pinnawala elephant safari (camp) Kept totally 3 elephants	, 1 present (0,1)	0 births	1 relocated	1 deaths	Kegalle (map)Kegalle District Sabaragamuwa Province
Pinnawala Zoo (zoo) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 2 present (2,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Kegalle (map)Kegalle District Sabaragamuwa Province
Polwatte temple (temple) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 1 present (1,0)	0 births	0 relocated	1 deaths	Kollupitiya
Port of Colombo (seaport) Kept totally 40 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	40 relocated	0 deaths	Colombo (map)
Pradeep Nilanga Dela Bandara (private) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 2 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Kandy
Ragama temple (unknown name) (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	1 deaths	Ragama
Ridi Vihara (Silver temple) (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 1 present (0,1)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Kandy
Ridiyagama Safari park (zoo) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 2 present (2,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Ambalanthota (map) Hambantota
Ritigala Yaan Oya Elephant Transit Home (orphanage) Kept totally 0 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Ritigala Strict Nature Reserve
Samaragiri Club Concept Elephant Bath (camp) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	1 births	2 relocated	0 deaths	KegalleKegalle District Sabaragamuwa Province
Sinharaja Forest Reserve (wild) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 2 present (2,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	(map) Southern Province
Siri Alanmathiniyaramaya Purana Viharaya (temple) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 2 present (0,2)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Colombo
Sri Dewram Wehera Depanama Pannipitiya (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 1 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Pannipitiya
Sri Lanka National Zoological Gardens (Dehiwela Zoo) (zoo) Kept totally 68 elephants	, 6 present (0,5)	1 births	53 relocated	9 deaths	Dehiwala, Colombo (map)
Sri Lanka Ramanya Nikaya (temple) Kept totally 0 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Weveldeniya
Sri Lanka unspecified location (wild) Kept totally 60 elephants	, 3 present (1,0)	153 births	53 relocated	4 deaths	(map)
Sumedha Basnayake (private) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	Balangoda
Tikiri Bandara Mampitiya (private) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	2 relocated	0 deaths	Giragama Walauwa, Yatinuwara
Uda Walawe Elephant Transit Home (orphanage) Kept totally 95 elephants	, 22 present (10,9)	0 births	68 relocated	5 deaths	Uda Walawe National Park (map)
Uda Walawe Nationalpark (wild) Kept totally 74 elephants	, 68 present (21,33)	7 births	5 relocated	1 deaths	Uda Walawe National Park (map)
Udugama Plywood Corporation (camp) Kept totally 0 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	Udugama Central Province
Ulankulama interim elephant orphanage (orphanage) Kept totally 0 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	North Central Province
Vipashyarama Purana Vihara (temple) Kept totally 2 elephants	, 2 present (0,0)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths
Wewaladeniya Rajamaha Viharaya (temple) Kept totally 1 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	1 relocated	0 deaths	KegalleKegalle District Sabaragamuwa Province
Wilpattu elephant orphanage (orphanage) Kept totally 6 elephants	, 0 present (0,0)	0 births	6 relocated	0 deaths	Wilpattu national park
Wilpattu Nationalpark (wild) Kept totally 3 elephants	, 3 present (2,1)	0 births	0 relocated	0 deaths	(map)
Yala Ruhunu National Park (wild) Kept totally 25 elephants	, 18 present (9,9)	21 births	2 relocated	5 deaths	Hambantota (map)

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