Jayathu (1983 — August 30, 1984) was a baby elephant given to Ronald Reagan by the president of Sri Lanka, J. R. Jayewardene, as a state gift.

Jayathu was an Asian elephant born sometime in 1983 in Sri Lanka.

Local farmers scared away her herd and Jayathu fell into a pit but was rescued and taken into an elephant orphanage.

She was later sent via airplane to the National Zoological Park in Washington D.C.[1] Jayathu, a name that can be translated to "Victory", was eighteen months old by the time she was gifted by J. R. Jayewardene, president of Sri Lanka, to Ronald Reagan and the American people on a state visit to the US on 12 June 1984.

[3] A little bit over two months after being gifted to Ronald Reagan, on 30 August 1984, Jayathu died of schistosomiasis in the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.