Both elephants were bid farewell with garlands of centaury leaves and incense sticks, and a Qatar Airways cargo plane took off from Bhairahawa.
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Khagendra Prasad and Rudrakali, who were brought to Bhairahawa from Chitwan via land, were taken to Qatar on Wednesday evening. Born at the Elephant Breeding Center in Khorsor, Chitwan, these elephants will be raised in the air-conditioned zoo of Alkhor Park in Qatar.
Both elephants were bid farewell with garlands of centaury leaves and abir. A Qatar Airways cargo plane carrying the elephants took off from Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa at 5:30 pm on Wednesday.
Government officials and conservationists present at the airport on Wednesday for the elephant handover wished Khagendra Prasad and Rudrakali happiness in their new homes. 'It feels like my heart is breaking when I gift my own animals,' said Rajendra Prasad Mishra, Secretary of the Ministry of Forests, 'It feels like my daughter is dying.' He wished both of them a happy home and more children.
Participants in the farewell program said they were hopeful of seeing the health of elephants in Qatar improve and their numbers increase. 'The elephant donation is also proof of the strong relationship between Nepal and Qatar,' said Mishra, 'This is the first time that the country has gifted an elephant.' Thank you to the mahouts, staff and locals of Chitwan who contributed to raising the elephants.''
Conservationists said that the elephants will not be 'stressed' because the air-conditioned environment in Qatar will be there. Two mahouts and a veterinary technician from Nepal will stay in Qatar for a month to teach the citizens there about the care and maintenance of elephants. Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ramkaji Khadka said that President Ram Chandra Poudel had decided to gift the elephants during the state visit of the Emir of Qatar to Nepal in April 2024, and it has now been implemented.''
'We are saying goodbye from here now,' he said, 'on Thursday, on Qatar's National Day, the elephants will touch Qatari soil.'' Nepal established diplomatic relations on January 21, 1977. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of those relations. ‘The elephant has been gifted as a gift on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations,’ he said, ‘this will further strengthen the bilateral relations.’
Director General of the Department of National Parks Dr. Buddhisagar Poudel said that Qatar will be the new home of Khagendra and Rudrakali from Wednesday night. He said that the gift of the elephants has made it clear that Nepal and Qatar have a strong relationship like elephants. Before handing over the elephants, a Nepali technical team had visited the zoo in Qatar and studied them. Poudel said that the elephants were handed over within the framework of national and international laws after the team submitted a report with an opinion that they could be kept. According to him, 7-year-old Rudrakali was born in 2018, while 6-year-old Khagendra was born at the Khorsor Breeding Center in 2019.
According to a press release issued by the department, both elephants were sent to Doha, Qatar after completing all the necessary procedures as per the law, including issuing a CIST certificate and health certificate.
The elephant handover program was attended by Chiranjivi Pokharel, Director of the National Trust for Nature Conservation, the Head of the President's Chure Conservation Office, the Chief District Officer, the Head of the Forest Office, the Head of Security, and a representative of the Qatari Embassy.
