Elephant throws off rider during polo match in Sri Lanka

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Elephant goes wild at polo tournament, takes on minibus

15 Feb 2007 10:27:49 GMT

Source: Reuters

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By Simon Gardner

 

GALLE, Sri Lanka, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Eighteen-year-old Abey is

unpredictable, has a temper and let his side down badly on Thursday when he

lost focus on his polo game in southern Sri Lanka and hospitalised two of

his team-mates.

 

The four-tonne elephant threw off his mahout and American rider as the

island's sixth annual elephant polo tournament got under way, rampaging off

the pitch and crushing the Spanish team's minibus with his head.

 

" It's not quite what we were expecting, " said boutique hotelier Geoffrey

Dobbs, who organised the annual Ceylon Elephant Polo Association Bowl to

help boost upmarket tourism and elephant conservation, as trainers tried to

calm the animal.

 

" I've been playing for seven years and it has never happened before, " he

added. " He got confused. Elephants are quite short-sighted, and if there are

sudden movements in front of them, they can sometimes be unpredictable. "

 

Spectators rushed out of the enclosure next to the ramparts of a historic

17th Century Dutch Fort in the southern port town of Galle as Abey

repeatedly butted the minibus, breaking its windows and wrecking its

bodywork.

 

A vet clutched a tranquilizer dart rifle nearby as trainers tried to control

him with sharp sticks and stones.

 

" I'm not playing again. It's not safe, " said visiting American player

Courtney Zenz after watching her team-mate thrown from the back of the

2.8metre male elephant and dangling in the air, her leg stuck in a

stirrup.

 

Elephants are revered in Sri Lanka and used at Buddhist religious ceremonies

and local festivals -- the main day job for most of the polo-playing

elephants chosen from among 110 domesticated animals across the island.

 

The rest of the Sri Lanka's 3,500-4,000 elephants are wild, roaming in scrub

jungle and wildlife parks, and officials are striving to tackle a

human-elephant conflict in rural areas, where farmers shoot dead elephants

to protect their crops.

 

In 2006 around 150 elephants were killed and 50 humans were trampled or

slammed to death as the animals strayed into villages scavenging for food,

Sri Lanka's Wildlife Department says.

 

Visiting Thai elephant conservation expert Prasop Tipprasert says putting

the animals to work can help educate the civilian population and pay for

costly upkeep, but is not convinced polo is the answer.

 

" There are many, many ways to conserve elephants, " Tipprasert said. " If you

want to do this kind of thing, they must know each other very, very well.

You really have to do a long, long preparation. "

 

Not all players were deterred by Abey's rampage.

 

Spanish horseback polo player and horse breeder Inigo de Arteaga, the

Marquis de Tavara from north of Madrid, is used to injuries.

 

" You can fall any time, it can be an elephant, pony, a horse. Last year I

broke my wrist. Two years ago I broke two ribs, " he said, looking at the

remains of his minibus, as the tournament beside the Indian Ocean was

temporarily called off.

 

" Doing any sport is always a risk. Let's go surfing. "

Elephant goes wild at polo tournament, takes on minibus

15 Feb 2007 10:27:49 GMT

Source: Reuters

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