A loud trumpeting sound interrupted our Chena lake fish curry lunch and out of nowhere a huge elephant, known as Natta Kota, aka ‘short tailed one’, strolled silently through the scrub and ambled his way 
onto the hand cut path, to boldly stand in front of Jetwing Safari Camp restaurant deck, between the tented villas and the reception area. Like a big Hollywood movie star on a press photo shoot, he posed, swirling his trunk around in all directions, eye-balling us as he playfully picked up a pile of dust, which he sprayed over his back, to stop the insects biting him and for a bit of natural sun screen against the harsh tropical UV light.
Natta Kota, now one of the stars of Yalainstagram and Youtube videos over the last few years, has reached millions of viewers and his ‘influencer’ appearances have driven people from Australia to London to book their wedding parties on the off-chance that the world’s largest land animal might just wander by.
The safari team, instructed to let the wildlife do as they please, are so used to seeing this elephant, they regard him more like another member of staff, who they talk about as if he was a long lost friend. Even Natta Kota popping his head into the kitchen has become normal, as they no longer shut the doors since it just gives the mischievous character a chance to knock them down. Maintenance staff told me that there is only a certain number of times you can put a door back on its hinges before the whole thing feels totally pointless. Natta Kota is just so curious, or so it seems, as he has even been into the towels and soap storage area for a bit of a sniff around and then left to munch on his favorite leaves. He clearly sees this jungle scrub land as his territory and, if left alone, won’t harm anybody, although, from time to time, he does poke his trunk into one of the ten accommodation tents. It seems he likes fresh water and, as a natural supporter of wellness, he must be thrilled to see glass water bottles.
Despite Natta Kota’s growing fan base and the Jetwing naturalist’s interest in understanding the complex behaviour patterns of his species, Natta Kota continues to do new things and for example, over the last five years, has always walked alone, following the same path each day along the sandy dunes early morning around sun rise, where he can be found by the hotel lifeguards, looking out to sea, watching the turtles riding the waves. In the late afternoon, after sleeping in the bushes with his head resting on a log or rock, documented by naturalist Gihan, he will, on the hotter days, amble from one side of the camp site to the other, to enjoy the shade of the different jungle trees and villa roof tops. He will only stop to eat Palu leaves, which the sloth bears also love to consume due the sweetness of the fruit in May and June. His routine includes checking out the main hotel car park in case a new visitor has accidentally left some food inside the car - something that is strictly warned against by the general manager - and afterwards explores the back of the camp before going off to munch on passion fruit.
It was like any other day, with Natta Cotta hanging out with his friends, the wild dogs, a monitor lizard and Chooti Malli, a lone wild boar, who was trying to sneak off with some peelings he had found around the slosh pits. Natta Kota as usual went after his little friend the wild boar to have their daily play-fight chase, as he loves food as much as those who choose to book this incredibly special safari camp, which has a home-cooked Sri Lankan theme to each meal and fabulous vegetarian options.
Sitting back down to carry on with our amazing local lunch, we are surprised to hear the call of another wild elephant from the beach, trumpeting several times as security came running just ahead of it saying a new elephant has broken through the electric fence protection zone so please be careful. Following this exciting news of the new arrival, walking stealthily behind the trees and bushes to get a glimpse from one of the platforms, I realise, as Natta Kota meets her in the central area of the Safari camp site, that elephants, like humans, have incredibly complex personalitiess. Natta Kota, instead of being aggressive as one would expect being a lone wolf, surprises us by giving the other elephant kisses by opening his huge mouth and wrapping his trunk around the cheeky smaller elephants flapping ears. He looks into the other one’s eyes with loving doey gooey eyes and becomes incredibly attentive, curling his trunk around the smaller elephant’s shoulders, as if giving a welcome cuddle and then rubbing backs like long lost friends or possibly future lovers.
Before elephant’s mate, the four-foot penis usually waggles around in the wind and the intoxicating smell is only matched by the tear-duct watering excitement pouring from the male’s eye. None of us are sure whether this is the start of the greatest love story of all time as Natta Kota has never been seen with another elephant before and with a trunk swirl they both rub bottoms as they vanish, excitedly, into the thick jungle. For those staying in Room 510 this would have been a National Geographic experience of a lifetime, as outside their tent window the two elephants greeted each other in so many different ways, looking like a dance and, for the first time, Natta Kota’s tail was in the air and the other elephant had lifted just one foot, which people often say is the indicator of the first signs of true love. The two were seen all around the area, through the night, but sadly the other properties used firecrackers to break them up and send them away - something Jetwing does not believe in doing, as they feel they are guests in the elephants’ land.
The farmers in the surrounding fields explain that, as annoying as Natta Kota is, trying to steal their fruits or paddy harvest, he has, like all the elephants in the area, been walking this terrain for thousands of years. To protect themselves from attack they use a simple precaution, which is to tie two glass bottles together on a rope all along the boundary, so they clang together and make a hell of a noise when elephants are coming. This gives them all enough warning time to climb up a tree and escape the dangers of any type of human conflict with an elephant, staying in their simple wooden tree-houses until a herd or individual moves on.
At night, as I enjoyed the outdoor shower with eco-friendly toiletries - a great way to feel at one with nature - I could hear the two of them trumpeting and munching away on the Palu trees, a short distance away. As I fall asleep under the whirling fan, I am glad that they have decided not to chase the elephants away with fire crackers, only to observe them in all cases at a distance as this is their jungle, so why not let them walk freely in the grounds. After all, we are the visitors in their home, not the other way around and no one should ever stand in the way of a great love story.
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