A mahout (a person who rides an elephant) decorates his elephant using chalk while preparing for the Elephant Festival at Sauraha in Chitwan, south of Kathmandu, December 26, 2014. Elephants and mahouts from Chitwan will participate in the Elephant festival, which involves elephant races, elephants playing an exhibition soccer match and taking part in various other sporting activities. The event will start from 26 December and will end on 30 December, 2014. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A mahout paints his elephant on the eve of the annual Rath Yatra, or chariot procession, outside the Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad, India on June 19, 2023. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A mahout splashes water on his elephant in the river Sabarmati on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India, May 20, 2015. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A mahout splashes water on his elephant on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India on April 8, 2019. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A mahout walks a tusker along a busy road in Colombo, Sri Lanka on January 19, 2021. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

A mahout carrying leaves rides an elephant along a street in Amritsar on February 27, 2024. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

A mahout cleans the dust from his elephant in Ahmedabad, India, February 8, 2017. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A mahout bathes his elephant in the river Sabarmati on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India May 21, 2017. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)