Seven cheetahs set for release into Wild at Kuno National Park by June third week
1 min read 31 May 2023, 10:24 PM ISTThe first batch of eight cheetahs was released into a quarantine enclosure in September 2020, with a second translocation taking place in February involving 12 cheetahs. Seven have since been reintroduced into the wild, and five more will be released before the monsoon season.
PremiumAccording to the chairman of the high-level committee overseeing the Cheetah reintroduction project, seven additional cheetahs, including two females, will be reintroduced into the wild at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park by the third week of June.
As reported by PTI, the much-anticipated project, which aims to bring back the cheetah population in India, witnessed its first batch of eight cheetahs being released from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at Kuno in September of the previous year.
Following that, a second translocation took place in February, with 12 cheetahs brought in from South Africa and released into Kuno.
Between March and April, three cheetahs passed away, leaving a total of 17 adult cheetahs remaining. Out of these, seven have already been reintroduced into the wild.
"The project is on track and there's no cause for worry. We have decided to release seven more cheetahs, including two females, by the third week of June," Rajesh Gopal, the panel's chairman and the secretary general of the Global Tiger Forum, told PTI.
"Of the 10 cheetahs still in the larger fenced acclimatisation camps, seven will be released. The three remaining ones are from Namibia's captive stock and more time is needed to rewild then," he said.
On May 8, the National Tiger Conservation Authority made the decision to release an additional five cheetahs (in addition to the three already released) before the arrival of the monsoon season. Typically, animals are not reintroduced into the wild during the monsoon period due to the challenging weather conditions that make it hard for them to locate food, find shelter, and adjust to their new surroundings.
The newly established 11-member cheetah project steering committee held its inaugural meeting on Thursday at Kuno National Park.
(With inputs from PTI)
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