The High Commissioner for Sri Lanka, His Excellency Justice Nihal Jayasinghe

The Elephants parade as the walkway is opened

Twycross Zoo have opened their latest visitor attraction, following on from the opening of the Himalaya, the Uda Walawe Elephant walk, gives you a new perspective on the zoo’s resident Indian Elephants.  The new £1 million investment was officially opened on Wednesday (July 28 2010) by the The High Commissioner for Sri Lanka, His Excellency Justice Nihal Jayasinghe.

Most Zoo’s have themed elephant habitats which reflect Thailand, Burma, Vietnam or India. Twycross Zoo will be the first in the world to theme a Sri Lankan elephant habitat. Sri Lanka is a country which has produced the world’s first and the largest elephant orphanage at Pinnawela and made the conservation of the largest mammal on land and planet earth a priority, creating many protected areas for animals. Drawing on the knowledge and skills of our zoological consultant Vasantha Nugegoda, from Design for Life to help design this exhibit.

Uda Walawe will promote the conservation of the Asian elephants and act as a shop window for crucial wildlife conservation programmes in Sri Lanka. Uda Walawe is the name of one of Sri Lanka’s national parks, in part set up to provide a sanctuary for many wild animals. Approximately three hundred elephants are believed to permanently reside there. The sanctuary is also home to water buffalo, water monitor lizards, sambar deer, monkeys and the occasional leopard. It is an important site for unique bird species. Sensitive and well managed eco-tourism is an important source of income for local people in Sri Lanka and provides an incentive to continue to protect the wildlife. The National Park is also the first in Sri Lanka to run a reintroduction programme for orphan elephants back to the wild, so far they have successfully reintroduced over 15 elephants.

One of Twycross Zoo’s latest amazing births, with the help of Artificial Insemination (A.I.) and after a twenty two month gestation period, is a calf elephant aptly named Ganesh – Vijay, Ganesh being a Hindu god and Vijay meaning victory. Ganesh will be 1 year old on 6th August; a competition will run to see who can correctly guess the weight of Ganesh on the morning of his 1st birthday. Entry forms will be available from 21st July until 5th August for any visitor to the Zoo. The prize will be a family Gold Pass to Twycross Zoo (unlimited visits to Twycross Zoo and entry into 10 other Zoos), a feeding session with the elephants and lunch in Himalaya for the family.  (See the story here)

Suzanne Boardman, Director of Twycross Zoo said,

“We are delighted that our visitors will be able to experience a taste of Sri Lanka, as well as learning about the cultural and historical aspects of this wonderful country, including the important role that the domesticated elephant has had on the country. Our aim is for this exhibit to forge strong links between the UK and Sri Lanka, particularly with regard to tourism. The opening of this new exhibit will help promote the need to conserve this important species globally and highlight the importance of elephants in Sri Lanka. It is our ambition to encourage visits to the wildlife areas of Sri Lanka and to share with our visitors the magical aura of Sri Lanka. It is our desire to create a little piece of Sri Lanka in the UK and an opportunity for visitors to learn about and also visit Sri Lanka to see how beautiful this country is.”

Uda Walawe is now open to the public.