Elephants day out in Nepal (Feature)

By Pratibha Tuladhar Dec 26, 2010, 7:24 GMT

Chitwan, Nepal - Anil Kumal, 25, bathed his pet elephant Poonamkali early Sunday morning, as he has been doing every day for past five years.

But this day was filled with excitement, as he operated the hand pump in his backyard faster than he does on normal days. He was preparing his baby for the first day of the elephant race.

'She a beauty!' says Kumal, as he applies pink and blue paint on his pet pachyderm's face and oils on her body. 'She the gentlest elephant in the whole of Sauraha!'

Poonamkali, 35, was brought to Sauraha village in Nepal's southern plains five years ago. She walked from India's Assam, a trip that took two months. For past three years, she has been a regular participant at the International Elephant Race.

Poonamkali is one of the 95 domestic elephants in Sauraha. There are 200 elephants in Nepal, including about 50 wild ones. Most live in the backyards of the huts owned by the indigenous Tharu people, who use them for tourist safaris.

Kumal fed Poonamkali a special breakfast of bananas Sunday. On normal days, she eats a sandwich of molasses, wheat and straw.

'Hath Beti' - 'stay, daughter' - Kumal calls out, as she reaches out her trunk for the entire bunch of bananas. 'One at a time.'

Monday will be another special day for Poonamkali, as she prepares to participate in the beauty pageant, with 20 other elephants.

'She will be the best-looking elephant,' says Kumal's wife, smiling at the colourful pattern the husband paints on their pet.

'She needs more care than a child,' Kumal explains. 'We wake up in the middle of the night sometimes, to feed her.'

The 4-ton animal will race with six other elephants on the first day, to qualify for the second round.

'The winner elephant will get a special award of sugarcane,' said Prakash Neupane, chief of Eco Wildlife Lodge. 'I hope my elephant Ruksikali wins!

The elephants will race each other over a distance of 300 metres.

'We hope the event will help people see how important animals are for ecological balance as well as for tourism,' Neupane said.

Late Saturday, the caretakers at the Elephant Breeding Center fed eight chosen baby elephants and gave them a day's break before the football match.

'We have been training them for weeks to play football,' said Ram Dhyan Chaudhary, who has been driving elephants for 30 years. 'We let them rest today, a day before the match.

'It's not always easy because babies are playful and they are keener on stamping on the ball instead of kicking,' laughs Chaudhary.

Early Sunday, the people of Sauraha lined the streets to see the colourful procession pass them by to the Baghmara forest, where the festival was going to take place.

Some mounted elephants, some were on horse-drawn carts and some on bullock carts, all preparing for races in their own categories.

'We believe the elephant festival will play a major role in luring tourists,' said Kesav Panday, coordinator of the event. 'It is just the beginning of Nepal Tourism Year 2011.'

Read more about Nepal Culture

Read more about Tourism