‘Kalana’ free to roam Ridiyagama Safari Park

Text and picture by PRIYAN DE SILVA

The chains that troubled  ‘Kalana’, which was Sri Vishnu Devalaya, Devinuwara, were finally removed last Saturday (10)  and it is now free to roam at the Ridiyagama Safari Park.

‘Kalana’ was said to have been at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage before President Ranasinghe Premadasa gifted it to the Devalaya in 1989.

In August 2018, the media highlighted the pathetic condition of the animal, and thereafter the Department of Zoological Gardens rescued and took it to the Ridiyagama Safari Park on 1 Sept. 2018.

According to Assistant Director Hemantha Samarasekera, who is in charge of the Ridiyagama Safari Park, it had taken many months for Kalana’s wounds to heal.