Asia
Nepal royals' fall creates jumbo trouble
Kathmandu | December 30, 2006 4:15:07 PM IST
The fall of the royal family in Nepal has created a 'jumbo' problem - keepers in wildlife parks are wondering how to name their tame elephants, which hitherto were named after members of the royal family. At least 16 elephants in different breeding centres in southern Nepal have not been officially named yet, the Kathmandu Post reported Saturday. Another nine female elephants are likely to calve soon and the newborns will also face the same trouble. According to Nepal's tradition, elephants were christened after the king and other members of the royal family, depending on which royal kin's birth month it shared. While the males had the suffix 'gaj' (elephant) added to the royal name, the females had 'kali', meaning flower, the daily said. There is already a Birendragaj (named after slain king Birendra) and Aishwaryakali, named after his wife, who too was killed in the royal palace massacre in 2001. Gyanendragaj is named after the current monarch, Komalkali, after the queen, and Parasgaj and Himanikali called so after the crown prince and his wife. Komalkali gave birth to a calf at the breeding centre in Khursor in southern Chitwan district but it is still to be given an official name. (IANS)
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