CNP prepares to gift two elephant calves to Qatar

Chitwan, Sept 1: Two elephant calves born at the Elephant Breeding and Training Centre of Khorsor, a part of Chitwan National Park, are being readied as gifts to Qatar. The calves named Rudrakali, aged seven, and Khagendra Prasad, aged six, will be sent within the next two months, according to Dr Hari Bhandra Acharya, Spokesperson for the Department of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.

They will be transported via a chartered cargo flight from Bhairahawa Airport. The Chitwan National Park (CNP) is currently constructing an enclosure to facilitate the safe transfer of the pachyderm to the airport.

According to the Centre’s chief, Manipuran Chaudhary, both calves share the same father, a wild male elephant, named Ronaldo. Khagendra Prasad’s mother is Koshi Kali, while Rudrakali’s mother is Puja Kali.

The elephants are being sent as diplomatic gifts to Qatar. Nepal occasionally gifts animals such as one-horned rhinoceroses and elephants to the friendly nations in an effort to strengthen bilateral relations and present the country’s biodiversity to the global stage.

The Elephant Breeding and Training Centre was established some four decades back in 2044 BS and has recorded the birth of 68 elephant calves to date. This marks the first time elephant calves born at the Centre being gifted abroad.

Since 1985, Nepal has gifted a total of 26 rhinoceroses, 10 ghyarial crocodiles, one wolf, and two leopards.

During the then President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s visit to Qatar in October-November 2018, Nepal had promised to gift elephants to Qatar.