
Bandula was a tusker and the oldest elephant at the Dehiwala Zoo. He was taken in by wildlife officers as a young calf that had become separated from its herd (one report says in the Anuradhapura area) and handed to the zoo, where he was trained for the zoo’s elephant dance show, once a main tourist attraction. He died at the zoo in September 2022, aged about 78–79, after a recent illness.