Injured Chanchalkali takes fodder through its trunk after 50 days

‘Chanchalkali’, a female elephant whose trunk was cut off by an unidentified group of people on April 4, has taken fodder through the trunk after 50 days of the incident.

The 45-year-old elephant that started drinking water after one month of the incident took fodders today morning, said Dipendra Khatiwada, who owns the elephant for commercial purposes.

Veterinarians have suggested that the elephant can now return to work.

“However, I am planning to let the elephant rest for some more days,” he said. Now, the elephant by itself can take a bath, go and eat grass, fruits, and tree twigs and leaves, he said.

He thanked a team of veterinarians from the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) and mahouts for their continuous attendance and recovery of the elephant. “However, the elephant cannot pick up anything from the ground through its trunk,” he said.

A team including the NTNC veterinarian Kiran Rijal is attending to the elephant.

Meanwhile, the Chitwan National Park (CNP) is searching for the perpetrator(s) who cut off the elephant’s trunk, said the CNP officials.