<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/637230549c7e80680e0c255fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>A wild ox Gaur spotted in Chitwan. Photo: BABU RAM LAMICHHANE</figcaption></figure>On the morning of 4 May, I got a call from the chief warden of Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in eastern Nepal. He wanted me to verify a picture of an animal: if it was a wild ox (गौरिगाई) or a wild water buffalo (अर्ना).The chief warden was tasked by the District Forest Officer of Udaypur with rescuing the animal that had ventured into the Khaijanpur Community Forest in Trijuga Municipality and the nearby village, straying into cowsheds and attacking two people in the process.The team led by a forest ranger reached the site, but was unable to identify the animal in question. When I was sent a photograph they took, I immediately recognised it as a specimen of the wild ox, gaur. The ranger's team finally pushed the animal out of the village to the forest it originally came from.This was a significant sighting because it confirmed the existence of the gaur in Eastern Nepal. We had been looking for evidence of this, but had failed to do so until now.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/637230579c7e80680e0c2560jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1352" height="881"><figcaption>Gaur population trend in Chitwan and Parsa National Parks.</figcaption></figure>The sighting shows that they must be quite a few of the wild ox roaming around the forests mostly undetected in biodiversity surveys of 2018 and later. This also means how little we know about this, and perhaps even other species in Nepal.Gaur (Latin name: Bos gaurus) is the largest bovine in the world and the third-largest mammal found in Nepal and Asia, after the Asian elephant and the greater one-horned rhinoceros. An adult gaur stands at 1.7-2.2m at its shoulder with a male weighs between 1,000-1,500kg, and a female between 700-1,000kg.Historically, the gaur roamed throughout South and Southeast Asia. But with widespread habitat loss and fragmentation, over 80% of their range collapsed over time. Surviving populations are confined in isolated forest patches mostly inside protected areas in ten countries of South and Southeast Asia.The gaur is in the ‘Vulnerable’ category on the IUCN Red List, and protected by law in Nepal. Globally, the population of this imposing animal is estimated at between 13,000 to 30,000.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/6372305b9c7e80680e0c2561jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1329" height="412"><figcaption>Gaur in Trijuga, came into settlement and stayed at the cowshed of locals. Photos: KUMAR RAJ SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure>Gaurs play an important ecological role as large grazers, especially in the Chure Range, Inner Tarai and Tarai and are concentrated in Chitwan and Parsa National Parks.  They generally live in small herds of 5-12 animals, but sometimes gather in large groups of over 100 individuals.Given their large body mass and the fact that they travel in herds means they help maintain openings within the forest and create grazing lawns which are used by other smaller herbivores like the spotted deer.Gaurs are also a part of the diet of tigers which prefer the large body size of prey like the gaur, arna, nilgai, sambar and swamp deer, even though they are primarily consuming smaller herbivores like the chital and hog deer.A small population is also found in the Trijuga forest in Udaypur and Saptari districts in Eastern Nepal, which was probably where the Trijuga specimen orginated. One gaur bull was brought in 1993 to Jawalakhel zoo from Jhapa District.A survey to estimate the gaur population in Chitwan was carried out in 2021 and in Parsa this year, and reported 388 and 164 mammals respectively. Population surveys have been carried out on a regular basis in Chitwan which shows a gradual increase of the population from 188 in 1997 to 388 in 2021. Similarly, in Parsa, the population has increased from 105 to164 in the past five years.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/6372305d9c7e80680e0c2562jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3509" height="2481"><figcaption>Distribution of Gaur in Nepal based on the surveys in Chitwan and Parsa National Park and a record from Trijuga forest in Eastern Nepal.</figcaption></figure>However, their presence outside of Chitwan and Parsa National Park is now negligible. Part of the reason is the deterioration and encroachment of its natural habitat, especially outside protected areas. Fragmentation of the Chure and Tarai is further depleting their range.They are also hunted for bushmeat, mistreated and succumb to diseases. Lack of information about their status, ecology and threats also add to the conservation challenge. Nepal's conservation priority now needs to shift from a focus on charismatic mammals like tigers and rhinos to other large but neglected mammals like gaur which are also endangered and important for the ecosystem.The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation has formulated a Gaur Conservation Action Plan for Nepal (2020-2024) to maintain the population and protect their habitat. The strategy prioritises hunting prevention, reducing disease threats, research and monitoring, protection and management of habitat as well as strengthening cooperation for gaur conservation.Babu Ram Lamichhane is with the Natural Trust for Nature Conservation – Biodiversity Conservation Centre in Sauraha, Chitwan. Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/activists-against-animal-cruelty-at-nepal-temple/">Activists decry animal slaughter at Nepal temple</a>, Sewa Bhattarai

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

Protecting Nepal’s endangered wild cattle

<figure><img width="1876" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93859c7e80680e06f1acjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: JANAK KAPALI</figcaption></figure>Just before all flights were grounded during the Covid-19 lockdown last year, dog trainer Janak Kapali was at Kathmandu airport to see off a street dog being adopted by a family in Canada, when he was surrounded by a pack of hungry strays. One of them stood out, a snow-white one that was calm, gentle and unlike the rest of the pack that lived in the pre-departure area. She sat quietly next to the red kennel with the rescued dog being sent off (photos, above).  Kapali noticed her at the airport whenever he came to arrange for the departure of one of the rescued dogs, and she always sat next to the pet carriers -- as if to say her own farewells to the dogs that were leaving. “Every time I came to the airport, she was there, guarding the kennel while we waited for the dogs to be put on their flights,” says <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jkapali" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/jkapali&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624247192791000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEOyX-lNgro8IyCjXIIdKnsY-1BDg">Kapali, 45</a>, who shelters 14 rescued dogs in his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Rambo-Abbie-Dog-Training-Center-112532196981120" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/Rambo-Abbie-Dog-Training-Center-112532196981120&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624247192792000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGFz3ugeZLKIJu__Hkly0wlUS0bqg">Rambo Abbie Dog Training Centre</a> (named after his own pets) in Kathmandu.  Kapali noticed that with flights mostly cancelled during the lockdown, the unowned dogs at the airport had become emaciated because there were no humans to feed them. So, he took to offering the white dog snacks every time he was at the airport. The white dog now has a name, Angel. And she is at the <a href="http://katcentre.org.np">KAT Centre</a> which works for animal welfare in the Valley. Angel has already got her shots, and her travel documents sorted out before departure.   Akash Dahal at KAT Centre was struck by Angel's calm demeanour three months ago at the airport when he was seeing off another batch of rescued dogs. “I have never before come across a street dog like Angel, she is just so well behaved and intelligent, as if she has been trained, she got along with the other dogs and she understood me,” says Dahal. Lesley Mapstone, founder of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/214415339708747" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/groups/214415339708747&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624247192792000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFy0y4URGyr0JCcizpvTKxpQqfpyg">Temple Dog Rescue</a> in Canada, who supports animal welfare organisations in Nepal, also noticed Angel in airport photos taken by Kapali, and in videos posted by KAT Centre. It was she who named the dog 'Angel of Tribhuvan'.Mapstone has been a frequent visitor to Nepal and was always moved by street dogs huddled in cardboard boxes at street-side garbage piles near Swayambhu.  One afternoon three years ago, she followed a puppy to its mother and siblings living on a sidewalk. She started feeding them daily, but the mother and litter were in bad shape. She took them for treatment at the KAT Centre, but the vets were only able to save a female puppy.    Mapstone named the pup Dawa, and adopted her. With Dawa by her side in Canada, Mapstone’s Temple Dog Rescue has been helping KAT Centre with fundraising to carry on with its work in feeding and sheltering <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bhaktapurs-dog-catchers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu’s community dogs</a>, which have been going hungry during the long lockdown.  Temple Dog Rescue also helps place dogs up for adoption with new families, and has helped find homes for dozens of strays from Nepal and Egypt. And it has found Angel a home. The four-year-old is being adopted by an award-winning Canadian activist against domestic violence, and will soon have a large 20 hectare property to explore in Ontario. Through GoFundMe, Angel now also has a one-way ticket and is waiting for her own flight from Kathmandu airport, where she said goodbye to so many of her canine friends. “Angel’s story about being an airport dog was so compelling that she was very popular during the fundraising, and soon she will have a loving home and lots of space to roam around and play,” Mapstone told Nepali Times by phone. Meanwhile in Kathmandu, animal welfare activists are busier than ever <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/singha-darbar-dogs-go-hungry-in-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">caring for street animals during the lockdown</a>. KAT Centre and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/snehazcare" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/snehazcare&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1624247192792000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGELN3xdPdAsgIISxhMLTB4jUg3Pw">Sneha’s Care</a> have been feeding dogs, cows and even temple monkeys which have been deprived of their usual source of food. The empty roads also mean that there has been a horrendous rise in dogs and cows sitting on the asphalt being hit by speeding cars. Sneha’s Care last week signed an MoU with Lalitpur Municipality to turn the city into an ‘animal friendly metro’, in the hope that it will be a model for other municipalities in Nepal to better care for street animals with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dog-bites-man-is-still-news-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">anti-rabies</a> vaccination campaigns, sterilisations, and control mistreatment.  Animal welfare organisations are often asked why they pay so much attention to dogs when people are also suffering during the pandemic. Sneha Shreshta of Shena's Care answer to them is: “Looking after suffering animals is also a part of what it means to be a human being.”Not all street dogs in Kathmandu are abandoned, many are community dogs. But many of these neighbourhood animals are also going hungry because of the lockdown, and have to forage in garbage piles to survive. Janak Kapali says he has noticed growing awareness in communities about the need to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/every-day-is-dog-day/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">take care of dogs all year around</a>, and not just worship them during Kukur Tihar. Nepal’s animal care organisations have increased their profile, and there is now better response when abandoned dogs are put up for adoption. “Unlike in the past, we now get inquiries about street dogs for adoption, although many more still prefer popular dog breeds,” says Dahal of KAT Centre. “Having people to volunteer with us is more important than donations because once people work closely with these animals, they have better empathy for them.” It is difficult to find Nepali families wanting to adopt older, or disabled dogs and those that are not pure breeds. Which is where foreign adoptions have helped with finding homes for dogs that have been injured in acid attacks, or wounded in traffic accidents.  Adds Mapstone of the Temple Dog Rescue: “<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/wanting-nothing-in-return-but-love/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Street dogs</a> can be just as gentle and loyal and as willing to please as any other breed, they just need a chance and that is what we are doing.” <figure><img width="960" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93889c7e80680e06f1adjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>US suspends dog importsThe US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has banned dogs being brought into the country from 100 countries for one year because of an increase in the number of dogs with fake anti-rabies vaccine certificates.The ban has been criticised by animal welfare agencies, and will affect dozens of dogs who have been delayed in joining families that have adopted them because of the lockdown. The US has seen a sharp increase in pet adoptions from abroad during the pandemic as lonely families cooped up at home needed companionship. However, the CDC says that more than 450 dogs arriving at US airports were found to have fake rabies certificates in 2020.This is a small proportion of the nearly 1 million dogs that are adopted and imported in the US every year, but the CDC says it is taking no chances. The ban on imports will go into effect from 14 July, and there is a rush to take dogs to the US where the authorities have become extra-strict in checking rabies papers.Among the 100 countries from which dog imports are suspended are China, North Korea, Vietnam, Nepal, Brazil, Kenya, Uganda, Colombia, Russia and others. Most European countries are not on the list.

Sonia Awale

Angel meets an angel

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22d49c7e80680e0417adjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="876"/><figcaption>BLOOD BOND: Jenny, a street dog injured after being hit by a car, received a blood transfusion from a fellow canine that helped save its life. Dogs at Sneha Care animal shelter regularly donate blood, which is used to help other dogs in need.</figcaption></figure>Sneha Shrestha and four <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/woof-of-fresh-air-for-street-dogs-in-kathmandu,4132" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rescued dogs</a> at her Sneha Care shelter are saving abandoned canines -- one blood transfusion at a time.For four years dogs at the shelter have been providing blood for dog surgeries and transfusions, and have saved many lives while helping vets across Kathmandu when they are in need of blood donation.“Before I had the shelter I found a dog on the street who was very sick and didn’t have a lot of blood,” Shrestha recalls. “I took the dog to the clinic, and it needed surgery but there was no blood available. The doctor asked if I had a healthy and disease-free dog at home who could donate.”Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/woof-of-fresh-air-for-street-dogs-in-kathmandu,4132" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A woof of fresh air</a>, Ryan Chang<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22d79c7e80680e0417aejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1067">Shrestha brought her Jenny who donated the first pint of blood to the needy dog at the surgeon’s table, and that made her realise that her dogs could help save other dogs. Four years later, Shrestha is proud of her dogs whose loyalty goes beyond being man’s best friend to also serving as dog’s best friend.“I take the dogs to a private clinic every three months for the donations because I don’t have the correct equipment at my shelter, it is expensive but the dogs are worth it, one day I aim to have all of the equipment,” Shrestha told Nepali Times.Veterinarian Sushil Kumar Paudel at the Animal Medical Centre says he is very grateful for Sneha Shrestha’s dogs and their blood because it can be hard to find appropriate canine donors.“There is a criteria that a dog must meet in order to donate blood,” Paudel explains, “they should be between 1-7 years of age, in healthy condition, disease free and preferably weigh more than 20kg.” This last requirement can sometimes be overlooked if the transfusion required is small:  only a 350ml bag instead of 450ml.“It’s also difficult sometimes to convince dog owners to do the donation procedure, it’s completely safe but some owners still worry,” he adds.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/caring-for-abandoned-dogs,3852" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Woman's best friend</a>, Sonia Awale<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22da9c7e80680e0417afjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Just as with human donors, after the dogs donate blood the clinic provides them with iron supplements and vitamins to ensure a speedy recovery of blood cells. There are no sedatives used during the donation procedure unless the dogs are particularly aggressive. Most of the time the dogs cooperate and are happy to be held in place, and sedatives are discouraged because they affect the quality of the blood.Blood transfusions are a novelty among dogs and are not used very frequently due to time and money limitations, as most owners prefer to treat their dogs with medicine rather than an expensive blood transfusion.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bhaktapurs-dog-catchers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhaktapur's dog catchers</a>, Monika Deupala“There are incidents when a blood transfusion is unavoidable: with internal bleeding or long surgeries where the blood loss is high. But if the procedure is minor we often find alternatives to blood transfusion,” Paudel adds.On average the Animal Medical Centre performs approximately two or three blood transfusions per month. One of the dog blood donors, a handsome German Shepherd named Jack has been adopted and flew off to Canada this week.Cats may also be able to donate blood in the future, but currently their population in Kathmandu is small and their general health would need to improve before they can be donors, like their canine colleagues.

A dog's best friend

https://youtu.be/ZGfDSfn8PmQRajan Gurung loved his first cat, Lucy, a gentle, loving, stray, when he was living in Singapore. But the 30-year-old interior designer had to say goodbye to his darling Lucy at a shelter when he decided to move back to Kathmandu. So he set about finding another furry friend."When I first came to Nepal, I was shocked by the Nepali culture that regarded cats as evil minded animals with witchcraft tricks," Gurung says.Dogs are labelled man’s best friend and worshipped, but cats have long been associated with the fairer sex. The older generation has relegated cats to Kathmandu’s alleys, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16143#.WyzCiWaB1TZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as dogs control the streets</a>. But there seems to be a man-powered feline uprising in our midst, signaling a possible shift from misguided stereotypes.Not dissuaded by Nepal’s anti-cat sentiment, Gurung’s new kitten Mimi came from <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/cat-care-Nepal,3763" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Catmandu Lovers</a>, who take in and care for the capital’s alley cats. They also find them new homes.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121140/6368ef049c7e80680e035956jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="359"/><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121140/6368ef079c7e80680e035957jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="403">Shelter founder Norfaizah Ramli has looked after strays for about three years now, and believes male cat owners are not as odd as many might think.“For some people, cat-loving males evoke a negative, and outdated, geeky stereotype, but I see these cat men as kind, deep, smart and hip,” she says.Such a view is a change from the norm, but there is more to owning a cat than the associated labels. Gurung believes cats are intelligent, albeit sometimes messy. Having Mimi has taught him some things, namely responsibility and patience.Gurung is not the only smart and hip chap in the valley however, as Nepali Times found two other cat-loving men who believe the stereotypes to be misguided and wrong. In fact it was the portrayal of a chiseled bad boy with a soft spot for cats in a Bollywood film that converted Shrijendra Amatya (pictured below).The 28-year-old says the portrayal of Inder Parihaar in Bollywood film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5255710/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sanam Teri Kasam </a>gave him the idea of adopting his own cats. Amatya calls himself a ‘Cat Man’. Just as the tattooed protagonist adores his cat, Amatya does too.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121140/6368ef0b9c7e80680e035958jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“It’s like raising two babies, I have to take care of their food, litter and face their tantrums when they are not happy,” says Amatya, who runs a coffee shop. He says despite the trials of raising children, they also bring joys that babies bring.Anjan Tamang is head chef at Sapporo Japanese restaurant, and has adopted the Japanese culture’s appreciation of cats. In Japan cats are considered godlike. Having grown up with a pet cat too, 26-year-old Tamang now has cats Leila and Luna. Hungry wee things, he loves to cook food for them – perhaps as much as he does for customers.Along with his two adopted dogs, he has created a happy animal-friendly and mice-unfriendly environment at his restaurant. “Two dogs are outside guarding my restaurant, and cats guard my kitchen,” he says.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121140/6368ef0e9c7e80680e035959jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="853"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121140/6368ef109c7e80680e03595ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>These fur babies are the lucky few to have cat daddies doting on them. But the reality is that cats are not getting love, and are left to search for food and shelter around the city. Owning pets, not just dogs, teaches us how to be better people.Like the Cat Men of Kathmandu, we learn compassion, patience and true unconditional love. Cats are not haughty or aloof, they are just as affable and affectionate as dogs. They love you, and not just because you’re their bread winner.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/cat-care-Nepal,3763" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cat man do</a>, Pema S Lama

animal-care

Protecting Nepal’s endangered wild cattle

Angel meets an angel

A dog's best friend

Be a pussy, get a cat