‘Cheetah mitras’ to watch towers, Kuno ready to host African guests

On Tuesday, officials from the Public Works Department of the Madhya Pradesh government were busy giving finishing touches to the five helipads and the approach road up to the quarantine enclosure.

The cheetahs, all aged between five and six, will be quarantined in the enclosures for the next one month where they will be under constant observation. “During their quarantine period, the cheetahs will need not hunt and will be fed buffalo meat. The idea is to ensure that no other animal finds its way inside, allowing the big cats to acclimatise well to the new environs,” said a senior Forest Department official supervising the preparations at Kuno.

Each cheetah will be given 2-3kg of meat every 2-3 days. “During their quarantine period, there will be minimum human intervention to avoid human imprint. In case there is a need to intervention, it will be done using camouflage,” added an official.

After the quarantine period is over, the cheetahs will be released into a 550-hectare enclosure divided into nine compartments, inter-connected through gates. The compartments will ensure that the animals can be easily separated in case such a need arises, said the official.

Soon after releasing the three cheetahs, the Prime Minister will address a group of forest guards and 200-odd ‘cheetah mitras’ at the Palpur guesthouse before heading to Karal. According to forest officials, the ‘cheetah mitras’ are a group of about 400 youngsters who have been trained to create awareness among the villagers about cheetahs — how are they different from leopards, in behaviour and looks.

“After the month-long quarantine period, the cheetahs will have to hunt for their survival in the bigger enclosure where they will stay for another month,” added the official. The cheetahs’ behaviour will be under watch and once they have adapted to the new habitat, they will be released into Kuno National Park, he said.

The enclosure has a high prey base, including over 300 cheetals, and its 11.7-km-long peripheral fence has electric charge to keep other animals at bay.

Officials pointed out that while leopards and cheetahs co-exist in Namibia in Africa, but the enclosures are being freed of leopards to make the guest animals feel safe in their new habitat.

“Once the cheetahs have acclimatised well, they will be released into the 748 square km Kuno National Park where they will have to survive with nearly 150 odd leopards,” added the official.

To keep poachers at bay, two drone squads have been readied, five watch towers with CCTV cameras have been erected and at least 24 retired military personnel have been hired.