The roundup also offers a chance to see mahouts tending their charges, washing them down, displaying how the elephants are captured and tamed, and performing traditional ceremonies like phi pakarn, a ritual done to fend off danger during roundups of wild elephants. Some object to the rather circus-like atmosphere that seems to surround the elephants during the stunts and games, but a visit to the area behind the stadium where the mahouts wash, groom, and feed themselves reveals a more personal and tender side to the relationship between animal and trainer.