Dog stranded for 20 days between cliff and raging river rescued in Nepal

Trapped for 20 days on a narrow strip of land between a sheer cliff and the raging Budhi Gandaki river in Nepal's Gorkha district, a dog named Seti was finally rescued on Friday evening by two kayakers who braved rain and strong currents to bring it to safety. The rescue followed a three-day effort involving local authorities, animal welfare groups and residents to airlift the animal fell through. Seti belonged to Dayaram Karki of Thado Bharyang in Dharche rural municipality-1 and had been swept away during the Oct 11 flash flood in Budhi Gandaki basin. Seti survived on an isolated patch of land at Jagat Bagar, near the boundary of Chumanubri and Dharche rural municipalities, where residents spotted it last Wednesday. Karki and local youths threw biscuits across the water to feed Seti. The plight of the stranded animal prompted a coordinated rescue effort involving Chumanubri rural municipality, Manaslu Conservation Area Project, Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Services Office in Gorkha, Animal Nepal and Gorkha Jaycees. Tourism entrepreneur and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP)'s Chumanubri president Dhawa Gyalzen Lama, local Birbal Ghale and rural municipality chairman Nima Lama first explored the possibility of a helicopter rescue, but bad weather and difficulties securing flight permission ruled it out. Animal Nepal then contacted Royal Beach Camp in Dhading, which sent a team of professional kayakers and rafters to Jagat Bagar. Despite persistent drizzle and the river's powerful current, Ram Silwal and Arun Thapaliya crossed the swollen Budhi Gandaki in kayaks to reach Seti. "It was drizzling, and the Budhi Gandaki was raging but they ventured into the swollen river and rescued the dog. I thank them," chairman Nima Lama told Nepalese news portal Setopati. The rescuers placed Seti inside a kayak and carefully ferried it across the river, ending its ordeal. Waiting on the opposite bank, Lama welcomed the team with traditional ceremonial scarves, known as khadas, and placed one around Seti's neck.