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Ceremonial tusker

Randeniye Bandara

රන්දෙණියේ බණ්ඩාර ரந்தெனியே பண்டார

Living

Randeniye Bandara
Sumudusoyza007 · CC BY-SA 4.0
A photo of a Sri Lankan Elephant — not this animal

A well-loved tusker from Randeniya in Kegalle, also called the Warakagoda elephant, often seen at temple peraheras. On 28 July 2026, while being taken to the annual perahera at the Manampitiya temple, he was hit by a tipper truck on the Kurunegala–Dambulla road while resting at the roadside. Social media posts the next day claimed he had died, but a fact check found he was alive and being treated by a veterinarian.

Sources

  1. No, Randeniye Bandara the beloved tusker is not dead — he is alive and being treated — Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka, Jul 2026