KATHMANDU, April 3: A staff member of Banke National Park has died after being attacked by an elephant.
According to Chief Conservation Officer of the Park, Birendra Kandel, the deceased has been identified as Asha Ram Tharu, estimated to be around 45 years old. He is a resident of Thakurbaba Municipality-9 in Bardiya.
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The incident occurred at around 8:30 PM on Wednesday in Khadgawar of Kohalpur Municipality, where Tharu was attacked by an 18-year-old male elephant named Ganeshgaj while he was feeding grass and grains.
According to the park office, Tharu had been caring for this elephant in Khadgawar since 2073 BS. The body of Tharu has been kept at the Nepalgunj Medical College (NGMC) in Kohalpur, according to the police.
His body will be handed over to his family after the post-mortem. The elephant involved in the attack has currently been captured.
There are six elephants in Banke National Park. The office has stated that a total of 6 elephants are being cared for at the rate of 2 each in Khadgawar, Buchapur and Gobarpur elephant reserves of the park. Eight employees, including have been assigned to care for the two elephants in Khadgawar elephant reserve, seven in Buchapur and six in Gobarpur.
