Nepal to have first hospital for wild animals

The Denver Zoo in the United States is helping Nepal build its first hospital for wild animals at Sauraha in Chitwan, south-central part of the country. The hospital will be built at the Chitwan National Park, a World Heritage reserve that protects over 932 square km of forests, marshland and rippling grassland and wildlife, said officials of the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC). The Denver Zoo has verbally assured financial assistance of 10. 5 million rupees (150,000 U.S. dollars) to build the hospital that will be of great help in treating injured and endangered wild animals at the national park, added the officials. "The initial deal for the hospital has already been made," said Govinda Gajurel, general secretary of the NTNC. "A written deal about the sort of help that we will get from Denver will be made soon. A team headed by Denver Zoo Vice President for Animal Care Brian Aucone has already met with Nepali officials in this regard. The NTNC had been in talks with former U.S. Ambassador to Nepal Michael E. Malinowski, president of the U.S. Humane Society and other U.S. government officials on the construction of the hospital for a long time. "We have been trying to maintain healthy relations with our well-wishers abroad who had in the past helped the trust," added Gajurel. "In past when we were registered as Mahendra Nature Conservation Trust we used to receive funds from U.S., Britain, Japan and Denmark...we are trying to get that help again." Lonely Planet, the largest travel guide publisher, describes the Chitwan National Park as one the best wildlife-viewing national parks in Asia.