Elephants run and play in Sri Lanka to raise funds for their upkeep

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Dozens of captive elephants raised funds for their upkeep Saturday by running races, playing tug-of-war and dancing to the rhythm of traditional drums.

Elephant trainers maneuvered their animals -- draped in bright colored cloths -- through a lively game of polo amid loud cheers from the boisterous crowd, most of whom were children.

The animals also took part in a 100-meter sprint and a hard-fought tug-of-war -- with an elephant at one end of the rope and 150 men at the other. It was ruled a draw.

The event drew more than 1,000 people and raised roughly $2,000 for the Tamed Elephants' Owners Association from ticket sales and sponsors.

Organizer Sunil Rambukpotha said it costs more than $15 per day to care for an elephant. The animals are kept as status symbols and often used in Buddhist ceremonies. An adult elephant can cost as much as $30,000.

It is now illegal in Sri Lanka to capture elephants in the wild and tame them, he said.

"Owners are making great efforts to look after and sustain those tamed elephants as this will be the final group of tamed elephants to be owned by individuals," Sunil said.

For centuries, aristocratic families in Sri Lanka kept elephants captured from the wild with the consent of kings and later the British Empire, which ruled the country for more than 100 years, until 1948.

A century ago, 10,000 to 15,000 elephants roamed wild in Sri Lanka, but today only about 3,000 remain, largely because of poaching and loss of habitat.

At least 100 wild elephants are killed each year, Sunil said.