Visitors to the Qinling Wildlife Park in Xi'an challenge an elephant to a tug-of-war on Sunday, July 15, 2007. The zoo is holding a special series of sporting events involving animals as athletes. [Photo: china.com]

At a tug-of-war match held on Sunday at Qinling Wildlife Park in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an, one participant single-handedly beat a team of one hundred people.

Wonder how? The super strong competitor was an elephant!

The massive mammal was among over 100 animal athletes, all residents of the zoo, on call to entertain visitors at a forty-day "multi-sport event," which raised its curtain on Sunday.

Besides the tug-of-war, other competitions held on the day included pig racing and black bears boxing, attracting more than a thousand human spectators.

In the following weeks, fiercer contenders like Siberian tigers will perform swinging stunts, while smaller ones like parrots will showcase their skill on a balance beam.