Rival teams of elephants take to the field during the weekend at Nepal’s annual Chitwan National Park Soccer Match.
During the thirty minute match, adult and baby elephants competed against each other, facing off, kicking the ball and scoring goals.
The elephants that play in the game are locally bred at a breeding center in Sauraha. With banners acting as uniforms, the elephants trudged through the field of play while the crowd cheered them on.
“Oh it was incredible, it was absolutely incredible. They were running around, they were pooping on the field, they scored goals, the small elephant was really cute,” spectator going by the name of “Pineapple” told reporters.
Viewers quickly realized this was not going to be a fast-paced game, even though the elephants did score a goal.
“Oh it was really nice. I like the big elephant who scored the goal. Did you see it? It was really good. We don’t have that in Holland,” a Dutch student going by “Black Peach” said.
Nepal has about three hundred elephants; one hundred of these animals are domesticated.
Elephants in Nepal are protected by law. If someone is convicted of killing one, they could be sentenced to 15 years in jail.
source: myfoxphilly.com, 31 DEC 2013
