2 Namibian cheetahs first to be released into the wild in Kuno

The Namibian cheetahs had been brought to Madhya Pradesh on September 17 last year and had been released into quarantine enclosures or bomas. After just over a month of acclimatising to their new Indian surroundings, seven of the eight cheetahs were released into a larger 6-sq km enclosure where they have been hunting.

Yadav said both Obaan and Asha were doing “exceptionally” well. “Obaan has been the dominant male and the largest of all the cats. He has also been the best hunter among the cheetahs. Asha has also been hunting well. We chose to release these two together because they have been interacting well, communicating with each other. And we believe they have possibly been mating.

After this release into the wild, we expect them not only to hunt well, but also to continue mating,” he added.

The official said the cheetahs will be monitored through their radio-collars (they were collared in Namibia before being brought to India) and by a dedicated 24×7 team of forest officers.

Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav released an additional twelve cheetahs brought from South Africa in Kuno National Park on February 18 this year, taking the number of cheetahs at the park upto 20.

“The other cheetahs have been doing really well — both the Namibian as well as the South African cheetahs. We will now monitor and continue to release the Namibian cheetahs as and when they are ready — there is no timeline for this though. We may even release the second batch next week,” said Yadav.

One cheetah, Sasha, was detected with a kidney problem on arrival — an infection she picked up while in captivity in Namibia and continues to suffer from.

India is looking to establish a viable population of at least 40-45 cheetahs over the next five to 10 years.

An MoU signed between South Africa and India earlier this year envisages the translocation of 8-10 South African cheetahs annually. For this, the Centre will have to establish other cheetah relocation sites in the country.

The cheetah is believed to have disappeared from the Indian landscape when the Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Koriya hunted and shot the last three recorded Asiatic cheetahs in India in 1947. In 1952, the Indian Government declared the cheetah extinct in the country.

Over-hunting, decimation of its prey base species and loss of habitat led to the cheetahs extinction. Since the 1940s, the cheetah has gone extinct in 15 other countries — Jordan, Iraq, Israel, Morocco, Syria, Oman, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Ghana, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In India the cheetah’s range was from Jaipur and Lucknow in the North to Mysore in the South, from Kathiawar in the West to Deogarh in the East.