Taj

 

Overview

When Wizpig arrived on Timber Island, the first thing he did was kick Taj off of his mountain. As Wizpig soon learns, it takes a lot more to keep a genie elephant down. Upon Timber's formation of the resistance movement Taj returns to the scene, providing the racing animals with tips, options, and vehicle-changing services. 
 
In Diddy Kong Racing DS, Taj owns a tent where many of the game's new features can be accessed. Another notable element about the DS remake is that Taj is now playable. If a player-controlled Taj talks to the NPC-Taj, the latter will exclaim "Am I going crazy?!" How both exist at the same time remains a mystery, but it's best not to question it.

Donkey Kong Racing

Taj was a planned playable character in the canceled Gamecube game, Donkey Kong Racing. In the teaser trailer shown at E3 2001, Taj was shown riding a Rambi-esque rhino and a Zinger.