1 week ago
Project Cheetah Expands Madhya Pradesh Habitats To Build Metapopulations
India is creating more places for cheetahs to live in Madhya Pradesh.
Kuno National Park was the first home for the animals.
Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary is the second home and will receive another female cheetah soon.
This will bring the sanctuary’s cheetah population to four.
A third home is being prepared at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve.
Four cheetahs from Kuno are planned for release there.
The goal is to create connected regional groups of cheetahs, called metapopulations.
Kuno currently has 49 cheetahs, including young cubs.
All of its cheetahs are fitted with satellite collars for monitoring.
Project Cheetah plans to establish a third cheetah habitat at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
A female cheetah is expected to move from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary next month, raising its population to four.
Four cheetahs—two females and two males—are scheduled for release at Veerangana Durgavati within about one and a half months.
Kuno National Park currently houses 49 cheetahs, including 15 males, 15 females and 19 cubs.
The project began with eight Namibian cheetahs in 2022, followed by 12 from South Africa and nine recently brought from Botswana.
- Who
- Project Cheetah officials and forest conservation teams are managing the expansion, involving cheetahs relocated from Kuno National Park.
- What
- The project is expanding to a third habitat and increasing the cheetah population at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.
- Where
- The expansion involves Kuno National Park, Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandsaur district, and Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve in Narasinghpur district, Madhya Pradesh.
- When
- The expansion is expected over the next one to two months; a female is scheduled to move next month, and four cheetahs within about one and a half months.
- Why
- The stated goal is to establish viable regional cheetah metapopulations in India.
Key facts
- Project launch
- Project Cheetah began in Kuno National Park in September 2022.
- Current Kuno population
- Kuno National Park houses 49 cheetahs: 15 males, 15 females and 19 cubs.
- Kuno cheetahs in the wild
- Seventeen cheetahs—10 males and seven females—are currently in the wild there.
- Gandhi Sagar expansion
- A female from Kuno is scheduled to be released there next month, bringing the sanctuary’s population to four.
- Third habitat
- Four cheetahs—two females and two males—are planned for release at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve.
- International transfers
- Eight cheetahs came from Namibia, 12 from South Africa, and nine were recently brought from Botswana.
- Monitoring
- All 49 cheetahs in Kuno are satellite-collared, including the 17 living in the wild.
Quotes
Another senior forest officer
Forest official involved in monitoring and managing Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park.
“The monitoring of 17 satellite-collared cheetahs in the wild round-the-clock has no parallel in the global wildlife conservation. Some of them are roaming freely in five-six districts while being monitored and followed by the cheetah rescue teams constantly. This is no mean achievement of the cheetah conservation staff of the KNP”
deccanchronicle.com
“The next phase of expansion of the Cheetah Project, which is coming in a couple of months, is very significant for creating a viable cheetah population in the country since it will help establish regional meta populations”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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