India prepares abode for new feline guests

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) – Preparations are in full swing in the Kuno National Park located in the central Indian province of Madhya Pradesh to host the swiftest land animal cheetah.

There is excitement all around as the animal will reappear in Indian forests, seven decades after being declared extinct due to massive poaching.

Before India’s independence during the colonial rule that lasted till 1947, hunting of cheetah and lions was a favorite sport for rulers and their local chieftains.

The lightly built, spotted cat characterized by a small rounded head will be brought from South Africa and released in the Kuno National Park located in Sheopur and Morena districts in Madhya Pradesh.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, the provincial Forest Minister Vijay Shah said that the cheetah will be released in the designated forest in November.

"We have started the process of building a fence at Kuno to house cheetahs to be brought from South Africa and it is going to be completed by August," he said.

Cheetahs would initially be housed in the fence so that they can acclimatize to the new surroundings before their release in the open wild. The project has been allocated 14 million rupees ($1.92 million) in the current financial year by the country’s National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

The minister said the officials from India will visit South Africa for a sensitization and training program. The cheetahs would be transported in October and November.

Kuno, located in the Chambal region and part of the Sheopur-Shivpuri forested landscape, is spread over an area of 750 square kilometers (289 square miles) and has a favorable environment for cheetahs as it has a mix of grassland and sloppy area, according to the minister.

Upgraded to a national park in 2018, the sanctuary can host 30 cheetahs.

Earlier in 2013, the national park had been chosen to host Asiatic lions, which have also become extinct. They are now largely restricted to Gir National Park in the nearby Indian state of Gujarat.

- Bid to host Asiatic lions failed

The plan did not materialize as the Gujarat government officials refused to part with the lions. However, the infrastructure created at that time did remain, which will not be used to host another animal from the cat family.

Shah said the protected area has a large number of ungulates, antelopes, sambar deer, four-horned antelope, chinkara deer, blackbuck, wild boar, blue bull, and spotted deer, which makes an ideal food chain for the cheetah.

A wildlife expert from South Africa who visited Kuno National Park in April returned satisfied with the facilities developed in the national park.

The common Indian leopard is the only cat species in the Kuno to compete with the cheetahs in the food chain. The leopards mostly stalk prey from the low branches of the forest canopy, while cheetahs live in the open savanna. Their hunting habits are also different, the experts said.

The country’s Supreme Court had earlier approved the introduction of African cheetahs into suitable habitats in India on an experimental basis.

A team of scientists from Wildlife Institute of India -- an autonomous natural resource service institution – led by Y V Jhala zeroed on the Kuno national park after visiting four places in Madhya Pradesh to explore the most suitable habitat for the introduction of cheetahs.

Ajay Dubey, a wildlife activist, said that the government must present a plan to protect cheetahs from poaching.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, he said since the area is close to the Rajasthan border, there is lurking fear of poaching and demands foolproof safety measures.

“Therefore, before choosing Kuno National Park, other places should also be considered,” he said.

Since India was originally home to Asiatic cheetah, hosting the African subspecies has raised some fears. But forest officials said both the animals are genetically similar.

The Asiatic cheetahs are now found only in Iran, which refused to part with its cats as they are already fewer in numbers in that country.