Sri Lanka has a new answer to toll booths — a tax-collecting elephant. Instead of searching the car for some spare change, you must offer up a tasty snack before Raja allows you to pass.
Raja, a 40-year-old male elephant, collects his payments on the Buttlala-Kataragama road that links Sri Lanka’s west and southeast coasts. He will stand by the side of the road and then step onto it when a promising vehicle approaches. At a whopping four tonnes, Raja uses his sizable bulk to block the road. He then waits until he is given payment before moving out of the way.
The clever elephant does not stop every vehicle. He has realized that larger vehicles and buses have the most to offer, so he tends to block those. Once the vehicle stops, he gently pokes his trunk in through a door or window to ask for the toll.
Celebrity status
His behavior has made him a minor celebrity in Sri Lanka. Travelers often buy fruit in advance in case they bump into the large elephant. No one seems to mind that he slows down traffic. Seventy percent of the population in Sri Lanka are Buddhist, and many others practice Hinduism. Elephants are deeply respected within both religions.
Raja is not the only elephant that stops vehicles on this patch of road, but he is the original pachyderm tax collector. Videos of the elephant have gone viral on social media after he unknowingly became a star of Asia, a BBC documentary series presented by David Attenborough. It explores the continent’s incredible wildlife and natural wonders. While filming in Sri Lanka, they came across Raja.
Photo: BBC
They arrived at the roadside at 6 am sharp every day, and every day Raja was there to greet them, ready for another busy day of stopping cars and collecting snacks. While some of the younger elephants along the road sometimes become aggressive, Raja is a gentle giant.
“Raja was a magnificent 40-year-old elephant who has been hustling by the side of the road longer than any other elephant on this highway,” commented Seth Daood, a researcher for the series. “In fact, he had laid down the blueprint for how to get food from vehicles on the road.”
