Pinnawala Open Zoo

Pinnawala Open Zoo
Entrance
7°18′2″N 80°23′18″E / 7.30056°N 80.38833°E / 7.30056; 80.38833
Date opened	17 April 2015
Location	Pinnawala, Rambukkana
Land area	44 acres
No. of animals	100+
No. of species	30+
Major exhibits	Mammals, Birds, Reptiles

Part of a series on
Wildlife of Sri Lanka
Protected areas Protected areas of Sri Lanka National parks Biosphere reserves Sanctuaries
Flora and fauna Vertebrates Birds Endemics Mammals Endemics Amphibians Reptiles Freshwater fish Introduced fish Cartilage fish Commercial fish Invertebrates Butterflies Beetles Moths Dipterans Mosquitoes Hymenopterans Orthopterans Cockroaches Termites Earwigs Lacewings Phasmid Hemiptera Mantids Minor insects Bees Odonates Aphids Ants Freshwater crabs Non-marine molluscs Myriapods Spiders Tarantulas Scorpions Hard ticks Mites Isopods Pseudoscorpions Lesser arachnids Echinoderms Flora Trees Mangroves Pteridophytes
Gardens Zoological gardens Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage Dehiwala Zoo Pinnawala Open Zoo Ridiyagama Safari Park Botanical gardens Hakgala Henarathgoda Mirijjawila Peradeniya Seetawaka
Organizations Authorities Department of Forest Conservation Department of Wildlife Conservation Civil societies Field Ornithology Group
Related topics Deforestation Ecoregions Tourism
v t e

Pinnawala Open Zoo (also called Pinnawala Zoo: Sinhala: පින්නවල සත්වෝද්‍යානය) is a zoological garden in Pinnawala, Sri Lanka, which is situated closer to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. The zoo was opened for public on 17 April 2015. This is the first open-air zoo in Sri Lanka and second zoo in Sri Lanka after Dehiwala zoo. The zoo was opened for the visitors free of charge from 17 – 30 of April 2015.^[1][2]

Sri Lanka has a rich diversity of animals across the country. Basically, the Dehiwala zoo provides all the facilities for many animals all over the world and due to high abundance of species, there was a difficulty of keeping endemic and native animals of Sri Lanka in those controlled condition. The commencement of Pinnawala Open Zoo first came through the period of former President Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2000. But the constructions were stopped in 2002 due to some disputes among the government, where the construction officially started in 2008 within former President Mahinda Rajapakse's period.^[3] The zoo was opened on 17 April 2015 by Tourism & Sports minister Mr. Navin Dissanayake and National Zoological Gardens Department Director General Anura de Silva. The expenditure for constructing the zoo is 862 million LKR.^[4]

The Pinnawala zoo is home for the many endemic animals in Sri Lanka. The zoo is divided into 7 enclosures, where the monkey island, Bird aviary, Amphibian area, and Pet area 2 are still in construction. There are internal road network throughout the zoo.

The 7 main enclosures are:

• Pet area
• Swan pond
• Deer enclosure
• Crocodile enclosure
• Leopard enclosure
• Bear enclosure
• Butterfly garden

The zoo is divided into two sections: the Sri Lankan zone and the World zone. Currently, the zoo is home for many native animals such as chital, lion, Sri Lanka Leopard, Purple-faced leaf monkey, Wild boar, Sambar, Asian elephant, and different endemic bird species. The leopard watching area is the largest of them all.^[5]

• 
  Flamingo section
• 
  Leopard enclosure
• 
  Leopard watching room
• 
  Sloth bear enclosure
• 
  Butterfly garden

• Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
• Dehiwala National Zoological Gardens

• Youtube