A playful elephant pretended to faint as he tricked his friends during an animal festival in Thailand.

The jumbos were trained by their caretakers to perform a football match as part of the Surin Elephant Festival in Surin province, Thailand, on November 14.

But in the middle of the game, one of them lay on the ground, prompting an emergency medic to check on the animal despite its being unhurt.

Footage shows the elephant lying on the grass while the mahouts called for vets. Its worried friends gathered around, and one even sprayed water on its body to wake it up.

Moments later, the elephant sprung up like nothing had happened, as the caretakers realised it had fake fainted and wanted to take a quick rest.

The Surin Elephant Festival is an annual cultural event held in Surin province where dozens of elephants march through the streets with colourful parades as well as holding other activities.

Thailand has around 4,000 elephants in captivity. They are kept at tourist attractions, and sanctuaries or detained privately so they can be hired out for antiquated religious customs.