Elephants trained to play basketball
The Island Safari Centre on Koh Samui is teaching six-year old Malie, and nine-year old Toktak to use their trunks to perform basketball skills, in an effort to improve their health and vitality.
Organisers at the centre, which cares for the animals, say that they undergo rigorous training in order to learn the basics of the game.
“It takes two or three months of intensive training to teach them basics, but fortunately their standards are improving with each passing day”, said organiser Ning.
The keepers begin by teaching the elephants basic ball control skills, and how to hold the ball in their trunk. The animals are then taught to stand on their hind legs, walk with the ball and finally shoot it through the hoop.
Visitors to the centre described the game as “unbelievable”, with one onlooker saying, “I had never seen an elephant playing basketball.
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