This footprint was made by Shanthi, of The Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Shanthi is an Asian elephant originally from Sri Lanka. When Shanthi was only a couple of months old, she was orphaned after she fell into a well. She was rescued by villagers and taken to the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage. In December 1976, when she was approximately one year old, she was given as a gift from the children of Sri Lanka to the children of the United States for our countries bicentennial celebration. Shanthi made this footprint in 1989, when she was 13 years old.