Cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh make first kill: why this is a big deal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had released the cheetahs on his birthday on September 17, tweeted on Monday, “Great news! Am told that after the mandatory quarantine, 2 cheetahs have been released to a bigger enclosure for further adaptation to the Kuno habitat. Others will be released soon. I’m also glad to know that all cheetahs are healthy, active and adjusting well.”

Sources said the two male siblings first hunted — unsuccessfully — a blackbuck within an hour of being released. On Sunday evening, officials heard cheetal noises from ‘Boma 4’, the larger enclosure, potentially signifying another hunt . A monitoring team sent to inspect the area on Monday morning discovered a large male cheetal’s carcass.

Why is the cheetahs hunting a big deal?

The eight cheetahs had travelled a long way — all the way from Namibia, flying 8,000 km over the Indian ocean — to reach Kuno, an unfamiliar environment. In fact, this is the first time in the world that a large carnivore has been relocated from one continent to another.

After that, they had been kept in quarantine for all these days, where they were fed buffalo meat. Freddie and Elton making their first kill so soon after being released means they are in good shape, and the relocation project seems to be progressing well.

A senior forest official told The Indian Express, “The cheetahs making their first kill within 24 hours is beyond expectations. This signifies that the big cats are absolutely fit and the worries of these cheetahs losing any muscle strength owing to the time they spend in quarantine is unfounded.”

Chief Wildlife Warden, JS Chauhan, while speaking to Express, said, “Considering that the two Cheetahs killed and finished a large antelope goes on to show that they are adapting very well.”

Why weren’t they hunting all this while?

The cheetahs had been kept in quarantine bomas (enclosures) so far to prevent them catching infections from other animals. They are being released into a larger enclosure in a staggered manner, with Freddie and Elton being the first.

The next cheetah to be released in the large enclosure will be another male, Obaan. The release will likely take place in a week’s time, said forest officials.

The larger enclosures consist of nine interlinked compartments spreads across a 5-sqkm area. The separate compartments have been created so that a particular animal can easily be removed should the need arise. The team of Dr Laurie Marker, Founder and Executive Director of Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia, from whose centre the animals were brought to India, had suggested that each enclosure should have around 40 animals as prey. The forest officials in Kuno have said they will ensure an optimum prey base, as needed.

The other five cheetahs are Sasha, Siyaya, Savannah, Tbilisi and Asha. Brothers Freedi and Elton have been put up together, as will Savannah and Sasha. The others will be in separate compartments. Asha, named by PM Modi, is suspected to be pregnant, and will be moved only after more clarity on her status. The male cheetahs are aged between 4.5 years and 5.5 years while the five female cheetahs are aged two to five years.

What next

After the cheetahs have been judged well-adapted to the larger enclosures, they will be released into the 748-sqkm Kuno National Park. While the enclosure has a high prey base, it does not have other large predators. In fact, its 11.7-km peripheral fence has electric charge to keep other animals at bay.

Cheetahs are known to coexist with leopards in Namibia, but the enclosures have been kept free of leopards to make the guest animals feel safe in their new habitat.

Once the cheetahs move to the national park, “they will have to survive with 150-odd leopards,” an official said.

Why was Kuno chosen for the cheetahs

Six sites, which had been assessed in 2010 for the translocation of the Asiatic Lion, were re-assessed in 2020 —Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve and Shergarh Wildlife Sanctuary, both in Rajasthan, and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kuno National Park, Madhav National Park and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

Kuno was found ready to receive the cheetah immediately as it had been prepared for the Asiatic Lion. Both animals share the same habitat – semi-arid grasslands and forests that stretch across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The upgradation of sites required investment in reducing anthropogenic pressures through relocation of villages, mitigating infrastructure (roadways and railway) and prey augmentation for the cheetah through translocation of blackbuck, chital, chinkara and wild boar, among other animals.

In Kuno, because of the lion relocation project, the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department had already relocated 24 of the 25 villages and declared it a national park, which led to “remarkable recovery in its habitat, prey abundance and reduction of human impact”, according to the assessment carried out by Wildlife Institute of India in 2020.

Also, in Sheopur district, where Kuno is located, rainfall levels, temperatures, altitude, and conditions are similar to conditions in both South Africa and Namibia.