Caretakers raising orphaned animal babies by feeding powder milk at CNP

By Basanta Parajuli,Sauraha, Mar. 26: After completing a three-month-long training, Gopal Gaj, a three-and-a-half-year-old elephant calf, is getting ready to be posted in the Chitwan National Park (CNP). 

Gopal was born to Himali Kali, a mother elephant, in the Sauraha-based Elephant Breeding Centre inside the CNP. However, Himali could not produce milk for her calf.

Since then, the park officials have been feeding powder milk to Gopal because milk is essential for elephant calves until they reach the age of two.

On January 31, 2022, Himali gave birth to her second child christened Bhadra Gaj. "Gopal grew robustly with the milk we fed. As Bhadra also could not get milk from Himali, we have been feeding him powder milk," said Manipuran Mahato, chief of the breeding centre.

Similarly, on March 8, 2023, a calf was born via C-section to Gandaki Kali, and has recently been christened Bijay Gaj. However, Gandaki didn’t allow Bijay to feed on her milk following which he has also been fed powder milk.

It was also the first-ever birth via C-section on elephants in Nepal.

"Bijay is fed with a litre of water mixed with a 100-gram milk powder every two hours. This routine will continue until six months," said Mahato.

After six months of birth, elephant calves start feeding on grass and plants and the amount of milk needed is reduced gradually.

"We also milk the elephants daily despite not producing milk because it cleans their udder and prevents mastitis, an infectious disease caused if the milk gets clogged," said Mahato.

Meanwhile, the park officials do not only feed powder milk to elephant calves but rhinoceros as well. Moreover, they also feed the milk to cubs of tigers and leopards.

"We have raised 12 rhinoceros calves and two cubs each of tiger and leopard by feeding powdered milk in Sauraha," said Dr. Baburam Lamichhane, chief of Biodiversity Conservation Centre (BCC), who added, "Recently, two calves of rhinoceros are being raised in Sauraha and one in Meghauli."

The BCC has been covering the costs of milk powder fed to orphaned babies of wild animals in the park. 

"Be it a calf of an elephant or a rhinoceros or a cub of a tiger or leopard, each requires a sack of milk powder for a month. A sack of powder costs Rs. 40,000," said Dr. Lamichhane.

According to Dr. Lamichhane, the babies get orphaned in the wild when their mothers die or are abandoned. "When we find such baby beasts, we bring them and raise them by feeding powder milk," he added.

Regarding the three rhinoceroses calves being raised, one was found in a pond and another in grassland, but the third one was found injured.

A caretaker deployed to take care of orphaned animals said that they need to love and care a calf/cub as their own until he/she is one-and-a-half-year-old. 

"When calves grow, they are given grass and fodder while the cubs are given meat to stop their dependency on milk," the caretaker informed.

The orphaned animal babies raised by the park officials are mainly left in the wild after proper training or kept in the zoo. Some of those babies are also receiving treatment abroad in well-equipped facilities.

"Of the two rhinoceroses gifted to Japan in 2002, one was Jange. It was also an orphaned rhino raised by the park officers," said Dr. Lamichhane.

While it is not an easy task to feed wild animals until they are two to three years, park officers can be seen taking care of them without reservation citing that they feel proud and happy when an orphaned animal raised by them returns to the wild.

According to them, they understand that their work has played an important role in nature conservation.

"Raising wild animals is itself a great challenge. However, caretakers in the CNP can be seen taking care of the animals with love and affection. They should be praised for their work," said Rampreet Yadav, tiger and rhinoceros expert at the BCC.