BHOPAL: While Namibian male cheetah Oban continues to explore tiger territory at Madhav National Park (MNP) in Shivpuri district, in the neighbouring Kuno National Park in Sheopur district, 12 South African cheetahs are now out in big enclosures -- as preparatory exercise for their future release in the open jungles.
The 12 semi-adult and adult cheetahs seven males and five females who were flown to the KNP from South Africa on February 18, were shifted from their quarantine bomas (small enclosures) into the bigger enclosures over the last three days, official sources at KNP revealed on Thursday.
The 12 SA cheetahs who fed on buffalo meat during the nearly two-month quarantine period in the bomas have now been released into big enclosures, which are of variable sizes, spanning between 50 and 120 hectares. Just like the Namibian cheetahs in the previous months, the 12 SA cheetahs will master the art of hunting the prey base, including Chital and Sambar deer, besides wild boars and Nilgais (blue cow) in the bigger enclosures.
“The bigger enclosures can best be defined as pre-release or acclimatization enclosures, where they will prepare themselves for hunting on their own before they are out in the open jungles. Though no set period is determined about when these SA cheetahs will follow the Namibian cheetahs into the open jungles of KNP, the time period could range between one month to four months, depending on how well these big cats acclimatize before being released into the wild,” a senior Madhya Pradesh forest department official told this daily.
Once out in the open jungles, the 12 South African cheetahs will not only hunt on their own, but also slowly learn to co-exist with co-predators, including leopards, hyenas, jackals and bears. Meanwhile, three Namibian cheetahs (all females) are yet to be released into the open jungles, where the four other Namibian cheetahs were released last month.