Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage and breeding ground for wild elephants which is situated northwest of the town of Kegalle Sri Lanka. It was established in 1975 by the Department of Wildlife Conservation on a 25-acre coconut plantation on the Maha Oya River. The orphanage was originally founded in order to afford care and protection to the many orphaned elephants found in the jungle. As of 2011, there were 88 elephants.