Baby ‘Pele-phant’ shows off his smooth dribbling skills

This cute baby elephant showed off his smooth skills as he demonstrated his first class of ball control under the watchful eye of his proud mother.

The Asian elephant, known as Luk Chai, seems to smile as he contently chases the giant soccer ball around his paddock.

Luk, which means son, ran after the ball after his mother, Porntip, kicked it for him to get it back.

Luk, the first Asian elephant born in Australia, then fell into a pile on top of the ball before hurling it towards his mother in another kick.

The photos were taken by amateur photographer Renee Doyle while visiting Taronga Zoo with her family in New South Wales, Australia.

The 46-year-old woman from Queensland said: ‘Luk is so personable and playful that I could just stand looking at him all day.

‘He loves to pursue his football. Sometimes, the keeper rolls the ball towards him, and sometimes, one of the adult elephants kicks the ball for him to chase.

‘In these pictures, it was his mother. He will even swim in the small pool pushing his ball around if it happens to roll in it. There’s no set – it’s just playtime.

‘The keepers do an absolutely amazing job and interact with all the elephants on a daily basis.

‘There are no goals in the field, and the ball goes wherever it goes but Luk will definitely chase it.

‘The elephants all got excited with different toys and performed impressive balance moves, but they all enjoyed themselves immensely. For me, it’s always like they’re smiling.

‘It seems like Luk Chai never stood still but ran around playing and just loving all the attention he was getting.

‘The crowds were quite thick as it was the first baby elephant born in Australia and everyone wanted to see him.’