Dozen more cheetahs for MP’s Kuno
BHOPAL: While the eight cheetahs, which were flown in from Namibia on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 72nd birthday on September 17, 2022, are mastering the art of hunting in big enclosures, the same Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district is gearing up to welcome 10-12 Cheetahs from South Africa by the end of next month.
While the eight Namibian cheetahs marked the reintroduction of the fastest land animal in India after 75 years of their extinction from the same country, the set of 10-12 cheetahs from South Africa will mark the next important chapter in the ongoing inter-continental cheetah reintroduction project. According to sources at the KNP and the MP Forest Department, the union minister for forest, environment and climate change Bhupender Yadav has dropped enough hints about the first set of cheetahs arriving at KNP by the end of January 2023.
The governments of the two nations India and South Africa are in the final stages of paving the way for the relocation of cheetahs at the KNP. As many as 12-14 new quarantine enclosures are close to being fully developed at KNP.
“The final dates can only be given by the union ministry as well as the special task force constituted by the Centre for coordinating and monitoring the inter-continental cheetah translocation project. But as per information with us, 10-12 cheetahs from South Africa will be at KNP by the end of next month,” said a senior state forest department official.
Meanwhile, all eight Namibian cheetahs, including five females and three males, are now in the bigger enclosures. “The wildlife experts from Namibia are surprised over the speed with which the cheetahs have adapted to the conditions at the KNP,” the forest department official added.
“If all goes as planned, then all eight satellite-collared cheetahs from Namibia will be freed by February end in the wild of KNP, which is spread in 748 sq km dense forests on MP-Rajasthan border. By the time the eight Namibian cheetahs are freed into the wild at KNP, the first batch of 10-12 cheetahs from South Africa would’ve made KNP’s small quarantine enclosures their new home,” he said.
The animal became extinct in India in 1952 due to extensive hunting. Though the Cheetah Reintroduction Project in India was conceived in 2009, it had to wait for the Supreme Court’s clearance to the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s plea.
In January 2020, the apex court gave its nod for reintroducing the extinct species in India. Nine months later, KNP was selected as the most ideal site, out of six shortlisted sites. However, the process was delayed due to the outbreak of the pandemic. Talking about the cheetah relocation plan, PM
Modi had said, “We have to give them enough time to make KNP their new and best home. India is working hard to rehabilitate cheetahs.”