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In recent news we have seen a rise in the overall popularity of a obscure, to us Americans, sport called elephant soccer. It sounds just like what it is. This is a sport in which two, four, or sixteen elephants are pitted against each other in a match of old fashioned soccer. Some may ask, what is the appeal? Well, some people think that watching a intelligent animal that is not a human do a human task is interesting or engaging. Of course none of this would be possible with any old elephant, these elephants are special because they are taught by humans from an early age, how to play soccer.
The image to the left is of a elephant named Katar after the ancient Indian dagger. It is a baby Indian elephant and it is learning how to play soccer. This elephant will grow to be about 3 meters tall and weigh over 3,000 kilograms.
Some people argue that this practice is inhumane and some disagree. Let's look at both sides. On one hand the elephants are kept in a 1 acre of land. They are not able to be free from this cage and they are pitted against each other in soccer. Soccer can occasional get brutal and these elephants have to learn how to effectively fake an injury if they want to become a pro. On the other hand they are fed well and always have access to water and are typically close to 1 to 15 other elephants in their enclosure. They are also spared from illegal hunters.
-Elephant Guy
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