Cheetah Project: For the first time in the world, within the framework of the cheetah relocation project from one continent to another, the release of cheetahs brought from Africa to India in the forests of the Kuno National Park in Madhya will gradually begin at the end of October. . Pradesh. Officials provided this information on Monday.
Officials said the leopards named Agni-Vayu will be released first in the Palpur East area, while Prabhas-Pavak will be released in another part of the forest.
He stressed that leaving only male cheetahs in the enclosure would cause overcrowding and conflicts, as they would come in search of female cheetahs. Therefore, it is important that female leopards are also released along with the males. Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary will be the second home of leopards in India as it is ready to welcome the new leopard herd, officials said.
He said a total of 20 leopards have been brought to Kuno National Park. Of them, eight leopards were brought from Namibia in September 2022, while 12 leopards were brought from South Africa in February 2023. Officials said that of 20 cheetahs brought to India, eight adult cheetahs (three females and five males) died. . At the same time, after arriving in India, 17 cubs were born, of which 12 are alive. Thus, there are currently a total of 24 leopards, including their cubs, in Kuno.
Officials said that currently these leopards are found in an enclosure of 0.5 to 1.5 square kilometers, while leopards generally need a forest area of more than 50 square kilometers to live in the wild. The cheetahs were initially released into the wild, but were returned to the enclosure in August last year after the deaths of three cheetahs (Tbilisi, brought from Namibia, and Tejas and Suraj, brought from South Africa) due to infection.
National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) officials said on Monday that talks are in the final stages with South Africa and Kenya to bring in more leopards. He said that as per the ‘Action Plan for Rehabilitation of Cheetahs in India’, 12 to 14 leopards will be brought from South Africa, Namibia and other African countries every year for five years or until the population is substantial.
Authorities are setting up a conservation and breeding center in Gujarat’s Banni grasslands, where leopards are likely to be introduced from Kenya. According to the 2023-24 annual report on the Cheetah Project, India aims to establish an Inter-State Cheetah Conservation Complex in the Kuno-Gandhisagar forest area between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in the next 25 years.
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