Nepal sending Gift Pair of Elephants (Rudrakali & Khagendra) to Qatar

A pair of elephants raised in Chitwan National Park, Rudrakali and Khagendra, will be sent to Qatar as a gift. They will be officially sent off from Sauraha on Monday.

According to Chitwan National Park Information Officer Abinash Thapa Magar, the elephants will fly to Qatar from Bhairahawa International Airport on Poush 2.

The Government of Nepal decided to gift a pair of elephants to Qatar during the visit of Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Nepal on Baisakh 11 and 12, 2081.

Following this decision, the two elephants born at the Elephant Breeding and Training Center in Khorsor, Sauraha, are being sent to Qatar. Khagendra Prasad is a male elephant and Rudrakali is a female. Both elephants are six years old.

Park officials said the process was delayed because it took time to complete legal procedures, including following the rules of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Nepal has a long history of gifting animals to other countries since wildlife conservation began. However, this is the first time Nepal is gifting elephants.

So far, Nepal has gifted 47 types of wildlife and hunting trophies to different countries. The country has also gifted 120 gharial and crocodile eggs.

Nepal has previously gifted rhinoceroses to several countries, including China, India, the United States, Germany, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia.