Kathmandu, Dec 23 (IANS): Nepal is going to hold an elephant festival in the town of Sauraha Dec 26-30 to raise public awareness about the decreasing number of the animal in the country.

The Nepal Tourism Board Tuesday said that the 11th edition of the annual festival is being organised by Chitwan district's Regional Hotel Association in Nepal (RHAN), Xinhua reported.

"From its earlier editions, the festival has already introduced itself in global tourism arena," the board said in a statement.

"This festival reminds us of our responsibilities towards wildlife."

"This edition of festival will see some 100 elephants in action, " RHAN president Gyanendra Kumar Bista said.

According to Bista, 20 elephants will take part in a race, eight elephant calves will play football and five will compete in a beauty pageant.

According to official data, only about 125 elephants remain in Nepal and they have been categorised as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).