The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — The National Zoo announced Friday that its new baby Asian elephant has been named Kandula, for the historic elephant of the same name that carried an ancient Sri Lankan king to victory in many battles in the second century B.C.
Zoo officials unveiled the name in the elephant house, as keepers fussed over the frisky 327-pound infant and his 26-year-old mother, Shanthi.
Zoo director Lucy Spelman said the zoo wanted a name that would reflect the elephant’s Sri Lankan heritage — his mother was born in Sri Lanka, and his father, Calvin, who belongs to a Canadian zoo, is the son of Sri Lankan parents.
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