Feeds: 10:30 · 2:30 · 6

Udawalawe · Sri Lanka

Meet the baby elephants of Udawalawe

Watch rescued baby elephants drink their milk, three times a day. This guide helps you plan your visit.

Milk time

Sri Lanka time

3 feeds a day

3 a day

About 30 minutes each

  • 10:30 am morning
  • 2:30 pm afternoon
  • 6:00 pm evening

These are the usual times. The ticket counter opens about 20 minutes before a feed.

All the times here are Sri Lanka time.

Checked in October 2026. Times can change.

Call the Transit Home: 047 223 2147
Baby elephants walking in a line across the dusty yard at the Transit Home
Photo: amanderson2, CC BY 2.0
  • UdawalaweSri Lanka
  • 3 milk times a dayEvery day of the year

A home on the way back to the wild

The Elephant Transit Home looks after calves (baby elephants) who lost their families. When they are big enough, they go back to the wild.

The Transit Home itself is run by Sri Lanka's Department of Wildlife Conservation (the people who look after wild animals). It opened in 1995. It is in Udawalawe town, on the edge of Udawalawe National Park, a huge wild place where animals are kept safe.

What you'll see

How a feed works
  • Young elephants hurrying across the yard towards the milk
    Photo: Z thomas, CC BY-SA 4.0
    Step 1

    The calves run in

    They come in a few at a time, in a hurry for their milk.

  • Calves at the rail drinking milk from a funnel and tube
    Photo: amanderson2, CC BY 2.0
    Step 2

    Big gulps of milk

    Keepers pour milk into a funnel. The calves gulp it down.

  • Young elephants playing with their trunks
    Photo: Z thomas, CC BY-SA 4.0
    Step 3

    Then it is play time

    They wander off to eat leaves and play.

From rescue to the wild

Read their story

  1. Rescued

    Some calves get lost or hurt, or lose their mum. People who look after wild animals bring them to the Transit Home.

  2. Raised on milk

    Keepers feed them milk many times a day, and even at night.

  3. Back to the wild

    At about 5 to 7 years old, they go back to the wild with their friends.

See wild elephants too

Wild elephants live in the park. Its gate is about 15 minutes away.

The Transit Home doesn't run safaris, but safari companies do. Wild Ceylon made this guide, and it is one of them. See Udawalawe safaris with Wild Ceylon.

Go on a safari

Good to know

  • You watch from a covered stand. Only the keepers go near the calves.
  • Bring cash in rupees. There is no cash machine there.
  • Use a quiet voice. Photos are fine, but no flash.
More questions and answers