Mammoth triumph for female mahout

CHITWAN, Nepal - On a warm winter afternoon, cheers and applause rang out as eight elephants lumbered onto an area of ground in the village of Sauraha.

It was a spectacular sight for locals and overseas visitors as the world's largest land animals got set to play football as part of the 14th Chitwan Elephant Festival being in Nepal's Chitwan National Park.

The crowd's attention quickly focused on a figure in a red sweater, gray trousers and wearing a white scarf.