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Kamala (An Indian Elephant)

Sri Lanka, born 1976

Place of BirthDemcoratic Republic of the Congo

BiographyKamala is a female Asian Elephant. She was born in Sri Lanka c. 1975 and was orphaned at a very young age. After she was found, Kamala lived at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka until she was transported to the Calgary Zoo in 1976. She was relocated to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington D.C. on May 22, 2014 and has resided there ever since. While she was still living in Calgary, zookeepers introduced Kamala to painting as an enrichment activity. The zoo began selling her paintings to raise money for the elephant program. Reports indicate that Kamala's paintings were sold for around $400 each and sometimes raised as much as $50,000 per year for the elephants' care.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/asian-elephant
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/09/08/Canadian-elephant-gains-artistic-fame/5835778996800/
https://calp.ca/_uploads/5c101e9c223fe.pdf

Person TypeIndividual