CHITWAN, Dec 15: Nepal is set to bid farewell on Monday to two elephants—Khagendra Prasad and Rudrakali—being sent to Qatar as a state gift, marking the country’s first-ever transfer of elephants to a foreign nation.
The Chitwan National Park (CNP) said the elephants will be formally seen off from Sauraha before beginning their journey to Qatar. Although the decision to gift the elephants was made earlier, their departure was delayed due to legal and technical requirements.
According to the CNP officials, the two elephant calves born at the Elephant Breeding Center in Khorsor, Sauraha, will be flown to Qatar from Bhairahawa Airport on December 17. Ahead of the flight, a farewell program will be held in Sauraha on Monday. Information Officer at CNP Abinash Thapa Magar, said the elephants will be transported to Bhairahawa the same day to allow them a day of rest before the flight.
Nepal to gift two elephants to Qatar during Emir's state visit
The decision to gift the elephants was taken during the official visit of Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Nepal on April 23–24, 2024. However, the transfer could not proceed at the time as elephants fall under endangered wildlife, requiring strict compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CNP said all legal and procedural requirements have now been completed.
The government had approved the gift during the Amir’s visit at the invitation of President Ramchandra Paudel. Both elephants—Khagendraprasad and Rudrakali—were born and raised in Chitwan.
Khagendra Prasad is a male calf born in January 2020 at the Khagendramali Post in eastern Chitwan and is currently housed at the CNP Elephant Breeding Center in Sauraha. Rudrakali, a six-year-old female, was born to Pujakali at the same center. After Pujakali died when Rudrakali was just three months old, the calf was raised under the care of mahouts. Both elephants received training at the breeding center.
This marks the first time Nepal has gifted elephants to another country since initiating wildlife conservation efforts, though it has previously gifted other wildlife species. Thapa said both elephants are in good health. Prior to the transfer, an expert team from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation visited Qatar to assess the facilities and environment where the elephants would be kept and found them suitable. A technical team from Qatar also visited Nepal to study the elephants’ health, behavior, and habitat, and recorded their physical measurements.
Four months ago, during preparations for the transfer, Khagendraprasad weighed 1,190 kg, while Rudrakali weighed 1,200 kg, according to CNP data. Nepal currently has 72 privately owned domestic elephants and 54 elephants under CNP, with the wild elephant population estimated at around 65.
So far, Nepal has gifted 47 species of wildlife and hunting trophies to various countries, along with 120 gharial and crocodile eggs. The government has also gifted 26 one-horned rhinoceroses to countries including China, India, the United States, Germany, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia. Nepal first gifted a rhinoceros to a foreign country in 1985.
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