The elephant roundup in Surin, Thailand Every year, at a town called Surin in the north of Thailand, the local people have an elephant roundup. Yes, a roundup, where hundreds of elephants are brought in from the many villages around Surin and for one week there are many interesting things to see. One event is a baby show where all the baby elephants born through the year parade with their mothers and are judged for the best looking one. The winner is given a big bunch of bananas to share with his mother and other elephants.
Elephants are wonderful animals and they are very smart.
During the festival two teams of elephants from different villages compete in a game of soccer. The biggest one on the team is picked as goalie and they really enjoy the fun. Sometimes the goalie gets excited with the game and in error kicks the ball into his opponent's goal instead of stopping the ball. Of course, the opposition counts the goal as theirs. He forgets sometimes that he is referee and joins in the fun by running down the field kicking the ball.