It was all part of an elephant-themed festival in Nepal that wrapped up Wednesday. The three-day event was held to promote conservation awareness and lure foreign visitors to Nepal.
The elephants were trained for weeks for the games, taking time off their normal jobs carrying tourists through protected jungles near Chitwan. The conservation forest has rhinos, several species of deer and crocodiles and is a popular tourist spot some 106 miles (170 kilometers) south of the capital, Katmandu.
“We hope that the elephant festival will help bring more tourists to Chitwan. We need both foreign and domestic visitors,” said Ghanashyam Shrestha, one of the organizers.
Tourism is picking up in Nepal as it slowly recovers from a 10-year Maoist insurgency that killed more than 13,000 people. The conflict ended after the rebels gave up their armed revolt and joined a peace process in 2006.
Teams of four elephants also played soccer matches using a standard-size ball. The elephants blocked passes, kicked the ball and batted it with their trunks, pushing each other for control of the play.
“Training the elephants to play soccer was not easy but they learned the basic command. They understood they need to hit the ball when I yell ‘kick’ at them,” said Basudev Mahato, 37, an elephant mahout who has been training and riding elephants for 15 years.