Elephant Festival
The Mahouts, who are known as the caretakers of the elephants, decorate the foreheads of the animals with head-plates as well as garnish their tusks with gold, silver bracelets and rings.Other events that take place during the festival include a polo match and a tug of war contest, where the strongest elephant is chosen to compete against a group of ten people.During the monarchy, India’s royalty would hold events where the strongest elephants would fight each other to entertain the royal guests.The Rajasthan tourism group, which hosts the festival every year failed to sign up the elephants with the Animal Welfare Board and provide appropriate documents.The Tourism Department’s decision to cancel came in the wake of protests by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).