such as bottle-feeding of elephant calves, feeding of all other elephants, and bathing in the Ma Oya (River). Elephant care Young elephants sometimes fall into pits and ravines in their quest for water during drought periods. Other orphans have been displaced from their wild habitat by development projects or have been found abandoned before weaning, diseased or wounded. There are around 70 mahouts (handlers) who take care of the elephants. The female and young elephants in Pinnawala range freely as a herd during the day in an area of a few acres. They are herded about twice a day to drink and be bathed in the river. At night, the females are individually chained in stalls. Adult males do some light work such as transporting feed. They are chained and managed individually. Calves born in Pinnawala are not bottle-fed, but a few from ETH are kept at Pinnawala and bottle fed as a tourist attraction. The elephants are fed in their stalls. There is very little food they can gather from the premises of the orphanage except some grass. Large quantities of jackfruit, coconut, kitul (sugar palm), tamarind and grass, brought in daily, form the bulk of the elephants food. Each adult animal is given around of this green matter per day and around from a food bag containing rice bran and maize. Elephant breeding Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage 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 Kumari. There have been many successful births at the facility, with 75 captive births so far (2023). The highest number of births in a single year was recorded in 2011, with 17 births. Animal welfare Most of the elephants at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage healthy and once attaining adulthood, will be retained within the facility mostly since they have become dependent on supplied food. A few disabled elephants are given residential care. One tusker, Raja is blind, and one female, named Sama, lost her front right leg to a land mine. Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was the subject of a 2010 report by the Born Free Foundation which called into question animal welfare at the orphanage. The quality of care of elephants who are donated from Pinnawala has been a big public