Two elephant calves born at the Elephant Breeding and Training Center at Khorsor, Chitwan National Park, 250 KM South from Kathmandu, will be sent to Doha, Qatar on December 17.
The two calves named Rudrakali and Khagendra Prasad, raised and trained at the breeding center, and sheltered in Sauraha, Chitawan are being gifted to Qatar government. Female elephant Rudrakali is eight years old and Khagendra Prasad, male is seven years old.
The elephants will first be brought to Bhairahawa from Chitawan in a truck and then will be directly flown to Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, according to Bed Prasad Dhakal, spokesperson at Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Kathmandu. They will be airlifted on a chartered flight to Qatar, he added. They will be sheltered at Al Khor Zoo in Doha.
The two elephant calves are being sent to Qatar as gifts from Nepal government and Nepali people, Dhakal said.
Two Mahouts and veterinary assistant Dinesh Dhakal will also be flown to Qatar along with the elephants. They will train the local staff of the zoo to take care of the elephants.
Nepal had brought 16 elephants from India and two each from Thailand and Myanmar around 1990 when the country’s elephant breeding centre was established in Chitawan.
