A spotty trajectory for the cheetahs in Kuno

For a plan that took five decades from conception to fruition, the expectations surrounding Project Cheetah—dubbed as the first intercontinental translocation of a large wild carnivore—are bound to be high. But after a promising start, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi releasing eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh last September, the fanfare has given way to an appreciation of starker realities. Mortality among the spotted felines has led to a re-evaluation of the whole project.The first death was reported in late March—a female, Sasha, dying of “renal complications”. But it was soon followed by the news of the birth of four cubs—a first after the big cat was declared extinct in India seven decades ago. The cheer was shortlived, though. In April, Uday, a male cheetah among the lot of 12 that had arrived from South Africa in February, died of “cardio pulmonary failure”. And then, on May 9, Daksha, another female cheetah, was killed in a “violent mating interaction” with two males. But there was more bad news to come, as in late May, three cubs were lost in quick succession. The lone remaining one, though, is showing signs of recovery and has even gained weight since. The authorities and cheetah experts have been hard-pressed trying to explain that normal mortality rates among cheetahs can be as high as 90 per cent. The adults that died, reasons the government, were already “compromised” when they came to India. MP, meanwhile, has written to the Centre, demanding that a second home be found for the cheetahs as it’s becoming tough to manage them at Kuno. The alternative site suggested is the Mukundara park in Rajasthan, but the proposal is finding no takers, either in Jaipur or at the Centre. This, even as the Supreme Court on May 18 raised concern over the deaths, asking the Centre to look into new habitats for the big cat.“The cheetah deaths have left me sad, but the situation is under control,” is what Bhupender Yadav, Union minister of environment, forest and climate change, said on May 29. He was in Bhopal to review the project along with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. “I am confident the project will be a success,” he added. “As of now, cheetahs will remain in Kuno, and there are no plans to shift them elsewhere.”.preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Per experts, cheetahs usually breed in winters in Africa. In India, however, the cubs faced extreme heat and hence grew weak, leading to mortalities. “More than the breeding cycle,” says Cheetah Metapopulation Project manager Vincent van der Merwe, “the issue of prey availability needs to be looked into at Kuno.” He is a part of the consulting panel of international experts guiding the 11-member Cheetah Project Steering Committee, constituted soon after the death of the three cubs.There are other issues that require attention for the cheetahs to survive in India? Each cheetah being released into the wild from quarantine has two- or three-member teams equipped with communication devices and a vehicle to monitor its movement. The teams work in rotation and the task is extremely challenging. The cheetahs have been travelling substantial distances, and easily exit the reserve as there are no physical barriers to keep them in. If the cheetahs are close to a human habitation and are under any threat themselves or in a position to threaten the livestock, they are tranquilised and brought back.Scientists have pointed out that in Africa, there is less than one cheetah per 100 sq. km. But the guiding document brought out by MoEFCC states that Kuno, with an area of 750 sq. km, can accommodate around 20-25 cheetahs. That means less than a third of the space available to cheetahs back in Africa. Meanwhile, more cheetahs are being released into the wild. Given the high stakes, the coming weeks will be crucial in determining the success or otherwise of this ambitious project.Published By: Arindam MukherjeePublished On: Jun 9, 2023--- ENDS ---

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A spotty trajectory for the cheetahs in Kuno

The Indian summer proved too harsh for the cubs as cheetahs usually breed in winters in Africa

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