Elephant polo

Elephant polo is a variation of traditional polo, but instead of horses, players ride on elephants. 🐘🏑

Here are the key points:
• Origin: It began in Nepal and India in the early 20th century, but became more organized in the 1980s in Nepal.
• Organization: The World Elephant Polo Association (WEPA), founded in 1982, helped standardize the sport.
• Rules: Similar to polo, but slower due to elephants’ size. Teams usually have 3–4 elephants, and players use long sticks (about 2 meters) to hit the ball.
• Venue: Traditionally played on grass fields, especially in Nepal’s Chitwan region.
• Controversy: In recent years, it has declined due to concerns about animal welfare, as training elephants for the sport was seen as cruel.
• Status Today: The sport is mostly discontinued and survives only as a tourist attraction in some places, but with much stricter rules or symbolic exhibitions.

👉 Would you like me to also tell you where you could still see (or play) elephant polo today?