Chitwan, Nepal’s oldest national park is the heart of the jungle, an ark in a world of diminishing wild places.

I put my arms around her head and lean forwards. Playfully, she tosses me into the air like a rag doll. At two and a half years old, Chandra Kali is a big girl. Each morning I purloin a few apples and bananas from the breakfast buffet to share with my favourite elephant at Tiger Tops. Mischievously, I pull her tail and dash around to twirl her trunk like it’s a whirly-gig. She squeals at me with joy. Her companions are all adults and I believe that my playmate misses roughhouse play with a creature closer to her size.

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