IFS officer considered architect of Kuno National Park removed as MP’s chief wildlife warden

However, instead of lions, Chauhan would go onto work towards the introduction of the Cheetahs from the African continent, an ambitious project, which had run into controversy off late due to the spate of Cheetah deaths during his stint as the chief warden.

On Sunday, Chauhan was grappling with the hard decisions that he had to take and had told The Indian Express that he was considering removing radio collars from 10 Cheetahs and monitor for infections stating that “the radio collar is not the fatal issue, it can be a contributing factor and it must be addressed.”

On Monday, South African cheetah expert Adrian Tordiffe, who was involved in the translocation of the cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa was also one of the experts who attended the Monday steering committee meeting.

He said, “Nobody in the meeting was disagreeing with the diagnosis of wet weather conditions and radio collars…Depending on what the situation is, we might have to put into quarantine camps after monsoon, we are looking at issues to improve collars and find a way to get around and cause problems next year. It was a shock to later find out Chauhan was removed. He was an expert and quite a sensible man.”

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), on Sunday said that reports of cheetah deaths due to radio collars were not based on scientific evidence, and that “all mortalities are due to natural causes”.

Mohit Bundas, the Deputy Secretary of the MP forest department in his order passed on behalf of the MP Governor removed Chauhan from the position of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) to the production department. He will be replaced by Asim Srivastava, another senior 1988 batch IFS officer.

Chauhan’s colleagues described him as an “efficient administrator” who had expertise and “shown foresight” in conservation of the endangered Hard-ground Barasingha at Kanha national park. He is also said to have played a role in the positive trends in the tiger population at Kanha from 1995 to 98 during his stint as it’s deputy director.

He would be transferred to Kuno National park where he served from 1998 to 2004 as the DFO. During this time he is credited with also leading a successful rehabilitation programme of the local tribal villages which earned him the respect of the local population.

“Dr Jasbir Singh Chouhan is the actual architect of the Kuno landscape making it conducive by village relocation of 20 villages for the introduction of a large carnivore in this area. The people of these villages are economically prosperous and adore him like a god,” said Chauhan’s colleague.

Chauhan’s colleagues said that he was credited with “enforcing strict enforcement protection measures” and has played a significant role in the “rejuvenation of the Kuno landscape”.

The cheetah reintroduction programme was launched at the Kuno park after a total of 20 cheetahs were translocated from Namibia and South Africa in September 2022 and February 2023 respectively to revive India’s cheetah population.

Till now a total of 8 Cheetahs have died since March.

On July 14, male Cheetah Suraj died and on July 11, male Cheetah Tajas was also found dead. Both Cheetah’s had injuries to the neck and multiple organ failure.

Three of the four cubs born to Jwala died in May. While the first cub died on May 23 due to suspected weakness, the other two died on May 25 due to “extreme weather condition and dehydration”.

On May 9, female cheetah Daksha, brought from South Africa, died following a “violent interaction” with two male cheetahs during mating.

Daksha’s death came close on the heels of the death of Uday, who had taken ill in April. On March 27, a Namibian cheetah named Sasha died of kidney complications. Sasha was believed to have contracted the ailment during its captivity in Namibia and had been unwell since its arrival at Kuno.