UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE

“But the most distressing sight is that of the elephants, five of them, all chained to the ground. Thankfully, Alipore zoo now has them in open spaces surrounded by moats, although it still cannot stop visitors from feeding them all kinds of rubbish. Yet the elephants are the USP of the Colombo zoo which, together with the famous elephant orphanage in Pinnawala and the farm at Gonapola, form the National Zoological Gardens. The beasts provide entertainment in the form of joy rides at fixed hours, fodder for zoo research and bring in much of the international attention the zoological garden delights in. Space again proves the obvious spoiler. But couldn?t there be some other way to exhibit these creatures?” – The Telegraph