Former scavengers find a place of their own

Maneka and Sanu today moved to their new home in Jawalakhel. The mother and foal will be fostered by the family Calder from UK. Especially 8-year old Ben was very excited to see them: 'I waited for them for three weeks. We first had to build a home and a fence for the donkeys, and get food for them. I think they will like it here', he said.

Maneka and Sanu (now renamed as Sarah) were rescued from a busy Bhaktapur intersection on July 6. Maneka was abandoned by her owner because she was lame and pregnant. She turned into a scavenger, roaming garbage heaps, and gave birth to a foal on the streets.

Mother and child quickly recovered at our Chobar shelter. When Rebecca Calder heard about the donkey foster programme she immediately came to have a look. 'We chose Maneka and her foal because we have a huge garden and felt that the two should stay together', she says.

We trust mum and foal will enjoy their new premises!

Scavenger donkey rescued with foal

Last Monday AN rescued donkey Maneka with her baby foal Sanu from Bhaktapur. After the brick season finished in May, Maneka was left behind by a heartless owner. By this time she was lame and pregnant. Maneka most probably gave birth to Sanu on a busy intersection in the heart of Bhaktapur.

Maneka is one of the discarded donkeys that live as scavengers on the streets of Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts. They were brought from Nepalgunj in Western Nepal to work in brick kilns but abandoned after they were considered useless. The donkeys are forced to rummage through garbage heaps for food and create problems for traffic. Many abandoned donkeys are in fact pregnant females, and are forced to give birth on the street - without nutritious food, medical care or shelter.

Our staff Drs Sudeep and Surendra, together with Krishna Singh, acquired official permission from the police to take the donkeys to our temporary donkey shelter in Chobar. Local youth objected against the move, but AN managed to convince them by explaining that the donkeys won’t be able to survive on the busy streets of Bhaktapur much longer.

Maneka and her foal Sanu are now provided with much TLC, fluids, food and shelter at our temporary sanctuary. After many weeks of neglect and extreme stress, they can finally relax and recover their energy.